Under-17 team await delivery of kit

FREDERICK KEBADIRETSE
Staff Writer | Thursday April 11, 2013 00:00

 

It has been over a week since the team left for Morocco for the 10th CAF under-17 Championship, but they still await the arrival of the playing kits a day before the tournament starts. The team is scheduled to start the championship against Tunisia on Saturday afternoon, but their kit is still on the way to Morocco.

Botswana Football Association (BFA) CEO, Keith Masters, told Mmegi Sport yesterday that there was a prolonged delay in transporting the kit from manufacturer Umbro in Cape Town to Gaborone. He said they did not anticipate the delay, but was hopeful the kit would arrive in Morocco in time.

'We were not expecting this delay, but everything will be fine, the kit is on the way as we speak,' he said. The kit only arrived in Botswana on Tuesday night and was scheduled to leave yesterday, even though the CEO could not give the specific time or day it would arrive in Morocco.

It could take a day or more for the kit to get there, depending on the availability of flights connecting to Morocco since there is no direct flight from Botswana. Last year, the Zebras' kit was transported to Gabon late and the team was forced to play with only one kit last as other kits could not be branded with the tournament logo on time.

They therefore used only one kit throughout the tournament, with players having to wash their kits after matches.Meanwhile, Masters rubbished allegations that the team threatened to boycott training in Morocco because they were complaining about unpaid camping allowances.

A source disclosed to this paper said the team wanted to boycott the Monday training session because their allowances have not yet been paid.The CEO dismissed this as mere speculation, saying there was never a threat to boycott training and he has never heard of any complaints from Morocco.