Notwane training pitch mirrors the club's struggles

BOITUMELO KHUTSAFALO
Staff Writer | Friday October 29, 2010 00:00

 

Just a few metres away, the honking sound of combis, accompanied by the sound of passing traffic is the order of the day.

This barren piece of land, adjacent to the National Stadium and the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) offices, is home to a Premier League side.

This is where Notwane Football Club's hopes start. It is here where the team's strategies and tactics are mapped out, amid a sea of distractions.

It is difficult to pick out the players from the restless crowd that hurries across.

Notwane is a club in deep financial crisis, which has forced coach Luke Masomere to quit. Other players are reportedly on the verge of leaving for similar reasons.

Probably the state of their training pitch mirrors the dire situation at the once mighty outfit.

As football analysts usually say, concentration is crucial in soccer. Two seconds of concentration lapse might prove costly. It is for this reason that some top teams in the world prefer to hold their training sessions behind closed doors.

They want minimal disturbances. Even locally, most teams have training grounds far from the 'madding crowds'.But the same cannot be said about Notwane. Their training sessions are held just few metres from one of the busiest roads in the capital city.

The location of their training ground has presented a lot of challenges for the side. While in some instances, supporters stay on the side of the ground and watch their heroes prepare for their next encounter, it is not the case with multitudes of University of Botswana (UB) students moving up and down the pitch. Notwane has to live with this situation every day.

When Mmegi Sport arrived at Notwane's training ground around 4pm on Wednesday, caretaker coach, Christopher Rabalago, was taking his young charges through their paces. The movement of students across the field were increasing with every passing minute and according to some, this happens from Monday to Friday.

Not only do the students move up and down across the field when the players are using half field, Mmegi Sport watched as students continued to 'trespass' even at the time when the team was using the whole field. The students did not seem bothered and without prior knowledge, it would be very difficult to know that a Premier League club is in training. Not only the movement of students is a challenge to the Notwane players, but also the road passing next to the ground is one of the busiest in the city. In the afternoon, taxis scramble for students, which is a further distraction for the players. Loud hooters could be heard every second while the players and the coach try as much as possible to concentrate on training. Notwane's case highlights the need for clubs to secure their own plots.

Notwane spokesperson Andrew Mokgatlane admits that the location of their training ground presents some difficulties. He says players require some degree of concentration on the field and the presence of UB students who wander across the field is not helping matters. He says at some point they wanted to fence the field, but could not do so because the ground is leased to the club by the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC).

As it is situated next to the National Stadium, the ground is used as a parking area whenever  a game is taking place at the stadium and therefore fencing the ground would create problems. Mokgatlane hopes that one day Premier League clubs will own their land so they can have full control of their facilities.