EU Announces Reduced Sponsorship For Junior Soccer

By Frederick Kebadiretse
Staff Writer | Monday February 22, 2010 00:00

The money will be used to organise training camps for Under-15 boys, which started last weekend and will continue until April 18. The same camps were conducted around the same period last year under junior development coach, Veselin Jelusic.

Speaking at the launch of the sponsorship at the Lekidi Football Centre in Gaborone on Friday, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning chief economist, Steven Kebakile said they were motivated by the success of the previous camp, hence they found it essential to continue sponsoring the initiative.

Kebakile said the programme would go a long way in encouraging the youth to take soccer seriously and turn professional at a younger age. He said they were impressed with the turnout in the previous camp and the selection process gave equal opportunity to the youth across the country.

EU Delegate to Botswana, Marc Thill expressed hope that Botswana youth will take full advantage of the donation and progress to become professional footballers.

'It is the manner that sports is delivered to youth and adolescents that determines future success in sports in a community. Do not only focus on technical and tactical parts of the game, include lifelong skills in the programme,' Thill urged.

BFA president David Fani said through the camps, they are able to ensure a bright future for football in Botswana.

He added that the camps complement the efforts made by the BFA to have talented players and well-rounded citizens even outside the field of play.