Under-15 team upbeat ahead of AYG
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Wednesday May 14, 2014 13:20
The team manager, Fobby Radipotsane said they will do everything to compete, but warned that as a young team, there is no need to put players under too much pressure.
“As much as we agree that we have to play to win, we have to understand that this is a development team. We do not want to put them under pressure,” Radipotsane said yesterday.
He expects their opponents in the group to be more physical in their approach because of their natural body structure. “We have tried to get the best team. We started training in January to prepare for this event,” he said.
The team has played a couple of friendly games and tournaments to keep in shape and did relatively well. It won a tournament in South Africa early this year. It played two friendly matches in Swaziland and won 1-0 and drew 1-1. The team has been playing some friendly games against junior sides of local Premier League sides.
The main players in the side are top marksmen, Ethan Colliop, Walter Setiko and Aobakwe Pillar.
Meanwhile sportswear company, Umbro are expected to dress the future Zebras in the Youth Games. With the help of Botswana Football Association (BFA), the company which is the official technical sponsor of the senior Zebras has been approached and is said to be willing to come on board.
There have been fears that some of the teams would go into the games without proper kits following reports that Botswana Africa Youth Games Organising Committee (BAYGOC) have failed to secure a sole sponsor for all teams.