Further delays to women�s league
Kabelo Boranabi | Wednesday February 15, 2017 16:15
Speaking at the premier skills women’s coaching course launch in Gaborone yesterday, BFA vice president administration and governances, Segolame Ramotlhwa said the association intends to form a national league as the current setup does not meet the standards of a national league.
Ramotlhwa said it is in the association’s interest that the regional leagues would be active so that the teams that come tops at the their respective regions form the national league. “We have divided the country into four blocks and we have 17 regions. It is our wish as the BFA that women leagues in those regions are played in a suitable manner. In this way we would have teams form a national league with the winners of the regions. We would also be able to have the first, second and lower leagues,” he said.
Turning his focus on the participants of the weeklong course, Ramotlhwa said their participation in the course could be a turning point in the development of women football. He called for the determination of the participants and asked them to develop the sport at their various regions upon completing the course. “It takes two to tango. We (BFA) also need you to be extra resilient. You should have passion for the sport, passion should drive you as sports in general faces different challenges when it comes to the girl child,” he said. He urged participants to be part of the development teams that play in the development league and to use the knowledge they would acquire from the course to assist those teams.
For her part, International Working Group (IWG) for women in sports representative in Botswana, Game Mothibi lauded the BFA for having a course of this nature, as she said it is a sign that things are moving in the right direction. She said the participants should not rest on their laurels after the course, as they would have a bigger role to play in the society.
“We expect the participants to share the skills with the public. From here as coaches, your role would be much bigger than it is now, you will serve as a mother, a sister amongst (other) roles, to your players. You have to be able to transfer the skills you have learnt to the young ones out there,” she said.
The course has attracted over 30 participants from the 17 regions across the country. It is the first all female coaching course to be held in the country. The main objective of the course is to develop responsible people both off and on the field. It started on Monday and will run until the end of the week.