31 Mar 2015

Botswana Football Association National Executive Committee member, Oathusa Baoke, has decried lack of sporting facilities in Kgalagadi saying it cripples the development of football in the country.

Addressing members of the Hukuntsi Regional Football Association in Hukuntsi, Baoke emphasised the need to invest on football facilities in order to develop football at grass roots level.

“For us to produce quality players who can represent this country at international level we have to work hard at nurturing raw talent at tender age and I am urging all business community and relevant stake holders to come up front and fund the development of raw football talent in this country,” said Baoke.

Baoke added that with proper developmental structure in place, the standard of football in the country can be of great benefit not only to the player but also the economy.

 “We need to ensure that we concentrate a lot in monitoring talent that we discover through programmes like Re Ba Bona Ha because by so doing we will be laying a solid foundation to the future of football in this country,” he said.

In addition Baoke noted that the development of football at grassroots level should be looked at as an investment in the economy because the players who graduate at these developmental structures can earn a living by playing football through exporting their talents outside the country and by so doing reducing the level of youth unemployment in the country. 

“It is high time we develop and produce players who are ready to penetrate the world football market at a young age and I strongly believe that one way to do that would bet through investing in developmental structures.

Currently Batswana footballers are struggling to make a name for themselves in the foreign leagues around the world not because there are not good enough but primary because they do not get enough nurturing at tender age,” highlighted Baoke.

Furthermore, he also said that there is need to establish a football school of excellence in the southern region of the country. 

“At the moment it is difficult to monitor the progress made by youngsters discovered in Re Ba Bona Ha and other development programmes because they attend different schools countrywide and with the school of excellence in place it will be easy to mentor the young players as they will be all under one roof,” he said. ENDS