BFA in late rush to rope in Mares' assistant
Kabelo Boranabi | Friday October 30, 2020 14:35
The team assembled for camp a fortnight ago to kick start preparations for the tournament that is scheduled to be held in Port Elizabeth, South Africa from November 2-14, 2020.
However, the camp missed a significant figure in Malete, as the team has been under the guidance of head coach, Gaoletlhoo ‘Ronaldo’ Nkutlwisang and technical advisor, Caroline Braun.
The BFA said Malete is held up by work commitments, but they are working around the clock for the young tactician to join the team before they leave for South Africa on Monday.
“His employer has not yet released him, we remain hopeful that they will do that.
We (had) made requests on time. His (arrival) has been delayed, so we have asked the BNSC (Botswana National Sport Commission) to assist or give us feedback so we can plot a way forward.
We are busy making follow-ups on the matter and we have not given up, we remain hopeful,” BFA public relations officer, Tumo Mpatane said.
Malete has been an integral part of the current Mares’ setup after joining the technical team as assistant coach in 2018.
He last year became the youngest coach to lead a national team at age of 29, in the Mares’ win over Namibia.
Meanwhile, there was relief within the camp as the latest results of COVID-19 tests came back negative.
A week ago, the camp was thrown into confusion after one sample from the initial test of the novel coronavirus retained an inconclusive result.
The players were re-tested a fortnight ago, and all the players have since been declared free of the virus. “We have no case of COVID-19 in the team, the results came back and they are negative, so we are COVID-free and training is going on smoothly,” Mpatane said.
The Mares have been drawn against Tanzania and Zimbabwe in Group C of the competition. The team will start their campaign against Tanzania on November 7 before they take on Zimbabwe two days later.
Last year, the Mares reached the semi-finals for the first time despite using the Under-20 side.