Players' Union Backs Dambe
Chakalisa Dube | Monday April 26, 2021 15:13
Early last week, the Zebras goal minder, Kabelo Dambe, vented his frustration towards senior officials at Lekidi, accusing them of grossly disregarding the welfare of national team players in a veiled Facebook post.
Dambe would later give more clarity on his post in an interview with Mmegi Sport. He said more often the poor performance of the national team is driven by neglecting of players’ welfare by the association.
The Zebras captain said that he felt that as a senior player he must rise up and speak out. Yesterday FUB Secretary General, Kgosana Masaseng, said that he is not surprised that Dambe aired his frustrations in the media. “The national team players are frustrated. Their welfare is not taken into consideration. The trend has been going on for years. As FUB we have not made much progress in our discussions with the BFA in relation to the improvement of national team players’ welfare. This is purely on account of lack of engagement on the part of the association,” he said.
Masaseng added, “ We recently met government officials in charge of sports to just appreciate how they do things. Since government funds the association we hope that going forward we will be able to play a significant role in influencing government policies that will ensure that the welfare of players is well catered for,” he said.
Masaseng expressed hope that Dambe’s recent utterances will push the association to urgently address issues surrounding the welfare of players of the national team. Dambe’s position against the association was widely backed by several people including former Zebras captain Joel Mogorosi. Mogorosi is known for being vocal on issues surrounding the welfare of players.
However,the Botswana Football Association (BFA) chief executive officer, Goabaone Taylor said It is unfortunate that Dambe appears to have an issue about his welfare that he is not bringing before the relevant people in the BFA for better audience. Taylor added, “I will not be responding to these in public media, as I believe any issues that a player has should be channeled through the relevant structures for attention.” Taylor also told Mmegi Sport that she would find out internally if there is anyone who has ever received Dambe’s complaint or any form of grievance from the players. On the other hand the Township Rollers goalkeeper told Mmegi Sport that the association is well aware of players’ concerns in relation to their welfare.