FODA To Spearhead Soccer Growth

By Boitumelo Khutsafalo
Staff Writer | Monday May 28, 2007 00:00

BFA President Phillip Makgalemele said that they have appointed a FODA committee to help spearhead the ambitious project, which was launched at the Lekidi Football Centre in Gaborone on Friday. Makgalemele said the committee, appointed in the spirit of good governance, has been tasked with six distinct responsibilities, including ensuring that the project is launched at major centres in partnership with various stakeholders and supported by various regional and national soccer league committees in the country. The 'think-tank' will also be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the project, in line with the original intended objectives, as well as considering financing requests for projects' implementation by the BFA National Executive Committee (NEC).

In addition, the committee will consider fund-raising proposals from various sectors and periodically brief the nation and BFA patron Vice President Ian Khama on the progress of the project. It will also ensure auditing of the programme a year after its launch. FODA is built around encouraging each household to make a contribution towards football development in Botswana.

Its chairman Benjamin Makolobe explained that during the last population census, there were 473 000 households who made up a population of 1.6 million. He said that their target would be 30 percent of households contributing kgomo, which would mean 141 900 households contributing. 'Based on an average value of kgomo, or a beast, at P1 500 sold at BMC, translates to P212 million being our target.' He said 30 percent was reasonable considering that 40 percent of the population was 'affected by poverty whilst an additional 30 percent may not be interested in football'. 

Speaking at the launch, Vice President Khama said he had been assured that the project should fund development of at least two football academies in the country, preparations for the national teams for both the 2010 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations. The vice president stressed that such projects had the potential to help Botswana develop football to greater heights if properly resourced and implemented.

He said Batswana had been making representations to the effect that they were ready to make a contribution if a platform was created for them to do so. 'Football has grown over the last few years in terms of following, at both the league and national team levels, and subsequently positioned itself as the most popular sport in the country,' he said. He also said that the opportunities presented by both the 2010 World Cup and African Nations Cup should be a motivation for the national teams to be well resourced and prepared.
Khama said that he had also been informed that the appeal would target various sectors of the Botswana society including households, farmers, unions, football teams, media houses and civil society organisations. 

'The project has the potential to leave a lasting positive legacy for Botswana football. This may include skills transfer to football administrators on how national resource mobilisation campaigns are run, revive the spirit of volunteerism given the diverse skills of the committee's volunteers and infrastructure as a minimum of two academies are targeted to be built,' he said.

He also urged the football fraternity to ensure that football brand remains free of controversies. He said that he had been disturbed by certain issues, which tainted the good efforts invested in the game. 'My concern is that at times football is compromised and given bad publicity simply because certain teams and individuals want to promote themselves at the expense of football,' he said.