A qualified coach, pastor and teacher at Gaborone International School, Tsetsengwa migrated to Botswana with his family in 1980. Mogoditshane Fighters Youth Academy has three branches, which are in Extension 2, Block 3 and Mogoditshane village.
They have a lot of training sessions during the school holidays to keep the boys busy and to refine their skills. The academy has since grown as it now has a pool of 147 boys with two Under-17, two Under-15 and two Under-13 teams. Mmereki said they plan to start catering for little girls in August this year because their mission is to open as many branches as possible. As a result, the Mogoditshane Fighters Academy is working on a marketing strategy to attract more support and membership. Meanwhile, the boys have been participating in a variety of tournaments, including the Kgakololo Youth Development Soccer Challenge 2007, which is named after Botswana Television (Btv)s Kabelo Kgakololo, which was held recently at the SSG Grounds in Maruapula.
Over the past few months, the boys have also been travelling particularly to South Africa in a bid to learn more and build friendships with other regional soccer academies. For his part, Tsetsengwa says his main cry is for soccer development in Botswana to be taken to a higher level. He said there is need for sponsorship for the BFA Youth League so the teams can be offered prizes when they win.
We also need sponsorship so teams could be given medals and trophies at prize-giving ceremonies, which are held every three months. Woolworths Foods had been sponsoring the teams with food but they have since stopped, he lamented. Tsetsengwa says the government needs to help supplementary programmes such as these in order for soccer to grow in this country as the region prepares to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa.
Land boards also need to provide plots for these kinds of academies, he says. The team salutes the Mogoditsane Fighters senior team for providing their bus, and businessman Chilli Kgoroba for offering his truck to transport players to their various engagements.
We would also like to thank the BFA for their efforts in helping with soccer development, Tsetsengwa said, adding that he would love to see these boys become responsible and successful citizens, leading a decent life and taking Botswana soccer to a higher level. (Sila Press Agency)
