Botswana to lose England FA's aid

MQONDISI DUBE
Staff Writer | Wednesday May 11, 2011 00:00

According to media reports in England, the FA board will meet next week to consider ending funding to Malawi, Botswana and Lesotho. It is said the meeting will decide the budget and strategy for international development and the relationship with the three African countries is under threat.

Under collaboration between the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and its European counterpart, UEFA, Botswana received development aid from the English FA. CAF and UEFA agreed to a twinning arrangement, which saw the FA pledging to assist football associations in Botswana, Lesotho and Malawi.

The FA provided technical expertise to develop human resources, particularly coaches and referees. The Botswana Football Association (BFA) also received equipment for the development of football at grassroots. BFA president, David Fani, described the FA's decision as a big blow since Botswana benefited from the arrangement.

'It will be a big loss because the FA was helping us a lot in terms of football development.  I was talking to an FA member last week and we agreed to discuss the issue at the FIFA meeting in Zurich, Switzerland at the end of the month,' Fani said. The FA decided to review their international projects after the 2018 debacle last year where England won only two FIFA votes - one of those from the English vice-president Geoff Thompson.

Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville and David James have all visited Malawi on behalf of the FA to boost development projects, the England manager, Fabio Capello, has been to Lesotho, while Paul Gascoigne was part of an FA visit to Botswana in 2006.