Lately, there has been animated talk that our football teams are subjected to bad treatment when they visit other countries. That issue has nothing to do with illegal immigrants. But for better appreciation, we want to draw parallels with an illegal immigrant. We all know how they are treated. As an illegal immigrant, you are unwanted. People might understand why you are in their country, some might even value your skills but you will always be treated like an inconvenience. This is how the Botswana Under-23 team that played in Angola over the weekend say they were made to feel. It is alleged that our team was made to wait for hours on end at the airport with no officials from the Angolan football association in sight. There are other allegations of bad hospitality up to the hotel. What is even sadder is that the players seem to have been subjected to unsportly behaviour while training and during the game. This defeats FIFA's credo on fair play.
It is not the first time that teams, not only from Botswana, complain of this type of bad hospitality. Sports authorities in Botswana should be seen to be doing something about this crude practice. We hope the Botswana authorities would take up this matter with CAF and if need be with FIFA so that this rot could be brought to a halt.
