Botswana trio enjoying playing soccer in DRC

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Friday June 14, 2013 00:00

 

Speaking in an interview, the three former Mochudi Centre Chiefs players - Jerome Ramatlhakwane, Dirang Moloi and Phenyo Mongala - revealed that they are enjoying their stay in the central African country.   Although they might be far away from home to them this does not matter as they are out there furthering their soccer careers.  To them, playing in the DRC is just like playing in neighboring South Africa. 

The three players were recruited by the DRC side, Don Bosco, last month after Chiefs' encounter against another DRC team, TP Mazembe in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) club championships.  Although Chiefs were eliminated by the DRC side via a humiliating 7-0 aggregate score, the trio managed to impressed Don Bosco. The three players are currently in camp with the Botswana senior national team, the Zebras.  They were fielded when Zebras played against Ethiopia in a World Cup qualifying game last Saturday. During an interview, Mongala told Mmegi Sport that they are happy with life in Lumbubashi where their club is based. There is not much to complain about really, but the atmosphere in DRC is just fine.  We are not there for a holiday,' he said. 

Mongala said they were given a warm welcome by the team' s management and players, adding that the team is composed mostly of foreign players.  There is no foreign quota for DRC teams.  According to the players, Don Bosco is one of the biggest teams in that country and is featuring in the elite league.The three players have signed  five-year contracts with the DRC side.  Mongala said the team has fulfilled all the contractual agreements.Moloi  added that they are happy about 'everything' in the DRC, adding that they only miss their families.   He said life in the DRC is not what lost coal people think, adding  that they are not in a war zone.  He indicated that there is no fighting in Lubumbashi, the capital of mineral-rich Shaba province.   'It is very peaceful,' he said, thereby indirectly clarifying perceptions that the war in eastern Congo, where rebels and president Joseph Kabila's troops are engaged in running battles, had affected life in Lubumbashi.Although he was quiet most of the time during the interview, Ramatlhakwane concurred with his colleagues that 'life in DRC is just blissful'. 

The three players have not made their debut in the DRC league yet because they are still waiting for international clearances from the Botswana football Association (BFA).But as far as they are concerned, they would not have any problems fitting into the Congolese club side.  According to them,  competition in the DRC league is tough, but they are determined to make their mark and redeem Botswana's rather dented soccer image. The trio are not yet used to social life in DRC chiefly because of the language barrier.  The languages that are spoken in the province are Swahili and French.  The three players share the same apartment in sprawling Lubumbashi city.   This is not the first time for the three players to be based in a foreign country after various stints in South Africa and Cyprus.