KK is the right man for the job

Dennis Keagile | Friday July 10, 2015 15:58

I say ‘at home’ because sport is his passion and has been his bread and butter his entire life. Above all, KK is a football fanatic par excellence. What an irony how this has turned out because he once worked with the BFA president Tebogo Sebego at Gaborone Kicks as his coach and he is now working under him as his chief executive officer; such is the unpredictability of life.

It has taken some fatuous act of misfortune for the then CEO of the association, Keith Masters to vacate his position and pave way for the person who should have been offered the post initially to finally step up to the plate.

Before his appointment, I had vigorously expressed my disapproval on the pages of this column that the Briton was not the right person to steer the troubled BFA secretariat and by extension the association out of the mire it is.

By then I had opined that the association needed a strong chief operating officer, who can put things in place before the likes of Keith Masters came into place.  Ever since the departure of Ashford Mamelodi who ironically I understand was one of the panelists who was interviewing candidates for the CEO position, the association has never had a strong and robust CEO.

The appointment of Judge Mookodi was supposed to have closed that gap given his credentials in the various sports administration field but alas, it was not to be as he was booted out before he could finish his term.

KK’s appointment, therefore, comes at the right time when the future of Botswana football looks bleak and when the organisational level of the secretariat leaves a lot to be desired. All of the association’s appointment or should I say Sebego’s preferred candidate have disappointed badly. His last man standing, senior national team coach, Peter James Butler is struggling badly.

But what are Kemoeng’s priorities? Streetwise as he is I think he ought to bring confidence back to the BFA secretariat.

The danger is that with his wealth of experience he might find himself at loggerheads with his superiors. Simply because he is a Motswana he might not be given the same level of support and respect that Keith Masters got.

I am however confident that like Ashford Mamelodi he will leave behind a legacy and hopeful he will be the first after a long time to see out his contract as the likes of Thuso Dikgaka, Mooketsi Kgotlele, Duncan Kgame, Mookodi and lately Masters all left in a hush.

But like it is said you are as good as your team; the buy in from the current members of the secretariat will be key, but I have no doubt that he has the experience and performance management know how to turn around the secretariat. This should also make relations between the BFA and the BNSC to be much smoother as he knows the requirement of the BNSC like the backside of his palm.

First in his many lines of duty will be his relationship with the media; how much transparent he will be and how he will respond to criticism. The reason I am saying this is because the media can have its own agenda as some tend to serve and promote the interests of certain individuals.

KK therefore ought to explain his rules of engagement with media well in advance but all in all we congratulate and wish him all the best. One thing that is certain is that he has a job cut for him.

Zebras

Things are gradually moving from bad to worse for the senior national soccer team, the Zebras. The Zebras were booted out of the CHAN competition by little known Lesotho, which not too long ago, our under-23 had put to the sword in convincing fashion in Gaborone.

Surprisingly, the coach has failed to apologise to the nation.  Instead his self centredness has taken precedence.

 Every time we lose, we are reminded that the team is being built for the future. Building has become the operative word and the word with which the coach hides behind. Is it a formula that when one builds he has to lose even to weak opponents like Lesotho.

Besides, I have serious reservation about this building exercise because instead of starting from the grassroot, which are starting from the branches with very little feeder support. There are no Under-20 or under-23 players, which acts as a building block hence the notion of building is all but an excuse to hide certain inefficiencies.

Butler should admit that he terribly blundered when for selfish interest, he stabbed Keitumetse ‘Pio’ Paul in the back. He is going to pay dearly for that mistake. FC Lemponye Tshireletso, the 2014/15 top goal scorer has been overlooked. This is despite the fact that the player was playing as a winger or left attacking midfielder than an outright striker.

If Butler could pick up some players who were not active, I find it hard why he overlooks certain players. It is in fact quite ironic that the league champions, Mochudi Centre Chiefs, have no one worthy of selection in the national team. This implies that the team was playing as a collective, which in turn means that it had a high work ethic and this ought to be brought to the national team set up.

By the way, which team has Butler developed?

The coach is developing himself and I have a feeling that he has a problem with senior players for fear that because of their exposure, they could question some of his tactics. It is easier to control youngsters who do not know have much knowledge, more than senior players who have worked with many coaches and are more proficient with the game. 

The Zebras are regressing, and the sooner the Under-20 and Under-23 are resuscitated, the better. Perhaps Butler ought to be redeployed escort aksaray to the technical director for youth development position, which was once occupied by Jelusic Vasselin. At senior level, it will take a bit more time for him  to understand and appreciate the intricacies of international football… that it is very different from club football