Francistown fans �mourn� Butlexit
Koketso Kgoboge | Friday June 16, 2017 16:01
Butler made a special mention of Francistown fans in his farewell speech, as the city has overtaken Gaborone as the home of the Zebras.
Since joining the Zebras, Butler has cultivated a decent relationship with the people of the north.
“…Special thanks to the wonderful people of Botswana, I loved my time here especially the wonderful people of Francistown. You will all be forever in my heart.”
Francistown Zebras supporters vice chairman, Kemisetso Tshiamo said they are shocked. He said the news leave a lot of uncertainties.
“Obviously we are hurt. We loved (Peter) Butler and he loved us,” he said. “Butler is the man who was behind bringing the Zebras to Francistown and he left great memories for us. We lost two games here, but we cannot forget we were on top of the game in the two.”
“It hurts because he is leaving and there is nothing we can do. We are not even sure if the team will return here. We are afraid this is going to have a serious dent on the support base. It is touching that he mentioned us in his final words. We will miss him.”
Mpho Macheke, a barber, said he is unhappy and still shocked by the news. He said Butler’s departure spells doom for the Zebras’ chances of qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations.
“I am still surprised. This is going to affect our chances of qualifying. Butler left at a critical time. We don’t know who is going to replace him. It’s back to square one.”
Tumelo Mbakile said the news was unexpected especially after a promising display against Mauritania over the weekend. He said the chances of winning the first COSAFA Cup have gone down.
“AFCON is an impossible mission. COSAFA is here and Butler came close to winning it for us. We were hopeful we would win this time around and Butler’s exit is the end for us,” he said.