BTTA to host national team selections
Calistus Kolantsho | Wednesday March 1, 2017 16:06
According to BTTA competitions secretary, Kudzanani Motswagole only players who finished in the Top 32 in the last year’s BTTA rankings are invited for the selection tournament.
He said despite the BTTA failing to finish last year’s calendar of events, the tournaments that were played were sufficient for the rankings.
“The national team is the highest level you can play in the country hence why we only invited the Top 32. I believe that they (players) played in enough tournaments to earn a Top 32 spot in the rankings. It is unlike in the past where we only had four ranking tournaments,” he told Mmegi Sport yesterday.
A national team coaching panel that includes national team coaches, Sai Maribe and Tshepo Modisane, together with junior national team coach Godirileone Bagwasi and level two coaching licence holder, Welcome Tema would assess the players. “These are coaches who have been in the national team set up for some time while Tema and Bagwasi were chosen to be on the panel looking at their qualifications and how they have been performing at their respective clubs,” he said.
By virtue of being the host, Botswana would have two teams at the regional tournament. Only 10 players from both the women and the men’s categories would make the cut.
The players would be pitted in groups and those who finish in the top four would automatically qualify for a spot in the team while the other ones would be selected at the coaches’ discretion. They will be another selection, where only players who did not make the first cut would contest for the remaining spots in the team.
The registration fee for the tournament is P50 and players who fail to pay the fee would automatically be replaced. Botswana bagged a bronze medal in the team event in the last edition of the AUSC games held in Windhoek, Namibia in December 2015.