Rollers bemoan stringent BFA squad rules

Kabelo Boranabi | Tuesday January 31, 2017 18:00

CAF preparations: Rollers president, Shah (center), PRO, Bafana Pheto (left) and chairperson, Walter Kgabung at the media briefing yesterday PIC: KAGISO ONKATSWITSE

Rollers have registered 25 players for the tournament as per the BFA rules and regulations whereas other teams taking part in the continental competition can register a maximum of 30 players. “Other teams can register up to 30 players. That gives them an advantage over us. There is nothing we can do. We have to follow the rules of the country where you play. In other countries they can register five foreign players while we can only register three,” Shah said at a press briefing in Gaborone yesterday.

Rollers’ head coach, Mogomotsi ‘Teenage’ Mpote echoed Shah’s remarks but said the team cannot focus on the negatives as there is little they can do. Mpote revealed that his technical team has been studying their opponents. “We will be playing a very tough side. We have downloaded their tapes. We are aware that they have a lot of play makers. They build up from the back. They have very good players, 90% of their squad are national team players,” he said.

Mpote further said his technical team has enough continental experience thus they are confident they can progress to the next round. “He (Thabo Motang, assistant coach) has been with the Zebras, while I have worked with the Under-20. We have enough experience in Africa. We know that playing in Africa is always tough. We have been working on our boys, preparing them for both the domestic and continental competitions,” he said. Shah also revealed that the club’s general manager, Sidney Magagane travelled to Madagascar last week to prepare the necessary logistics. “We are having butterflies in our stomach; we do not know what to expect. All we know is that they have been winning consecutively. They are not a bad team at all,” he said.

Rollers visit Madagascar’s side, Caisse Nationale de Prevoynace Socaile Sport (CNaPS) on February 11 in the first leg of the Champions League preliminary round before welcoming their opponents at the National Stadium on February 18. The club revealed that tickets for the second leg are already on sale, with the grand stand tickets selling at P100, the Panda (East) stand at P40 while the south and north stands tickets are selling at P30 each. The club said the budget for the two-legged fixture is P900,000.

“There are incentives for our players. We cannot reveal the amount but I can tell you, they will be much wealthier than they are if they pass the group stage,” Shah said.