Heat wave hits Under-17 preparations
Kabelo Boranabi | Friday November 13, 2015 14:41
Coach Chris Mogapi said they face every day battles in their preparations for a World Cup qualifier against Namibia later this month.
Mogapi told Mmegi Sport yesterday during the team’s morning training session the heat wave has affected his team’s preparations.
He said they have switched their training sessions to early morning when the temperatures are lower. He also said they are yet to have a full squad as some of the players are held up by school commitments.
“As of now we do not have a full squad yet. Some of our players are writing their examinations. We only have those who finished their JC exams and they just joined us this week,” he said.
Mogapi further said they took a decision to go into a three-week long camp so they can improve the team’s fitness.
“Most of these players do not play regular football. Only a few play in the league, but they are not regulars. So fitness was always going to be an issue. We have been working on it and we hope that it will be where we want it to be,” he said.
He said the players invited to camp are the best of the crop as they have had trials all over the country and he is optimistic that they will be ready on match day.
“The morale in the camp is high. The players are very determined. We as the technical team are also working hard to prepare the team for the game,” Mogapi said.
Veteran goalkeeper coach, Thabo Motang joined the Under-17 technical team during Mmegi Sport’s visit.
“We do not know anything about the Namibian team. All I know is that they have not been playing in competitions at this level.
We do not have any information on them,” he admitted.
Botswana take on Namibia on November 28 before the return leg next March. The top three teams will qualify for the World Cup, which Jordan hosts next September.