Ngele is the Stanbic Bank Botswana's football ambassador.
He met the African legend yesterday in Gaborone. Pele is in Botswana as part of the Standard Bank African Cup of Nations trophy tour of the continent.
He told a press briefing at the Stanbic Bank headquarters in Gaborone that he is grateful to meet Ngele because he is the local 'Ayew'. "He asked me a lot of questions like whether I have won the African Cup of Nations and I told him that I did it at the age of 17.
"I even told him that I have won the African player of the year award three times and if he works hard, he can achieve that," said Pele. The former Ghana international stated that Ngele has hinted that he would like to play in Europe and he will help him in his endeavour. "I have asked him to give me his cassette where he was scoring goals and I'll take it from there," he said.
Pele is Stanbic Bank ambassador. He said that there is talent in Africa not only in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa but everywhere. He was quick to note that for African talent to grow, it is up to big companies like Stanbic Bank to ensure that football in Botswana improves.
He urged the media to play a role in ensuring that youngsters play football at the highest level. "As the media, you have to praise the youngsters when they are doing well and criticise them when they are doing bad. This will ensure that they get used to the criticism at an early age," said Pele.
The former Ghana captain is in the country to promote the Cup of Nations trophy. He said the essence of touring the African countries before the 2010 showpiece in Angola is to fulfil the desire of football supporters who have been willing to touch the trophy. He said on his way to Gaborone, he met Ivory Coast football stars, Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure and they were eager to touch the trophy. "This goes to show how difficult it is to lift this trophy," he added.
Earlier during the day, Pele paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Gladys Kokorwe at her office. Kokorwe said that though Botswana has not qualified for the African Cup of Nations, it is important that the country was chosen for the trophy tour. "This will give us courage to qualify for the 2012 finals. The trophy tour will create a lot of interest among the seven countries," she said.
