BFA patches in absence of school sports
Kabelo Boranabi | Saturday December 16, 2023 07:39
Recognising the impact on the development of football and sports in general, the BFA President Maclean Letshwiti has announced a campaign to procure 7, 500 footballs for donation to development structures nationwide.
He asserted that following the suspension of school sports, aspiring footballers have faced a dearth of essential equipment. Consequently, there is a pressing need to launch an initiative to bridge this gap. "We have a very serious problem in Botswana, the lack of school football.
It is a very, very serious issue. What I have decided as the president of the association is to launch a scheme where we are going to raise 7, 500 footballs. One of the serious problems is that the kids are there in the streets or the regions, but they do not have the necessary equipment to play football. Normally they used to have that from schools, but now they don't, so we can't just say there is no school football; we must come up with an initiative," Letshwiti said.
The BFA aims to collect the footballs through public donations, intending to distribute them to regional structures. Furthermore, the BFA plans to supply playing kits for all teams in the regions, including the Division One leagues, women's football leagues, and development leagues. The BFA sent the national Under-15 boys and girls' teams this week to the CAF African Schools Football Championship - COSAFA Qualifiers, held in Zimbabwe from yesterday (Thursday) to Saturday.
The BFA CEO, Mfolo Mfolo said in previous years, the team was selected from the then school sports competitions. This year, the BFA used the Bonnita Cup to select both boys' and girls' teams. "We have structures in 17 regions; we started with regional football associations. From there, we went to the blocks, and with our partnership with Lactalis (Bonnita Cup), we came to choose the best. You should also note that we have got a centre of excellence in Radisele that is housing our Under-15. So we did not just take players from anywhere; there was a process of how these players were chosen, and where we stand, we feel that we have chosen the best in the absence of school sports," said Mfolo.
He also said the BFA commits to participating in regional or continental football tournaments to prepare future stars for elite football. Botswana has since been pitted in Group A of the CAF African Schools Football Championship - COSAFA Qualifiers for both the boys' and girls' teams. Botswana will face Malawi, Eswatini, and Mozambique, and hosts Zimbabwe. Despite the challenges posed by the absence of school sports, the BFA finds itself in the company of the Botswana Table Tennis Association and Botswana Tennis Association, both of which have made significant strides in international youth competitions.