04 Aug 2015

The president of Botswana Football Association says the success of the national teams is depended on strong development structures.

Speaking during the BFA annual general assembly on recently, Tebogo Sebego said for the past years, the BFA did not have strong and sustainable development structures hence they resolved to implement a development strategy last year.

Talking about grassroots football, he told delegates that a launch was to be done countrywide this year, adding that the BFA has already concluded coaching courses in the southern part of the country and would start in the northern part in due course.

The national executive committee, he said, has approved the commencement of an Under 15 league following the introduction of a development levy of the premier league sponsorship.

He, however, said regions should submit the list of teams and fixtures to obtain support from the BFA, as they provide footballs and other equipment as well as P8 000 cash per region.

“The championships shall play at block level and then the national level, the under 15 league shall lead to the establishment of an under 17 league next year,” he said.

Talking about the performance of the Zebras,Sebego said when they appointed the teams head coach in 2014, milestones were set for him amongst them to make a good impression at the 2014 AFCON qualifiers, the 2015 COSAFA cup and 2017 AFCON qualification.

He said the coach was also to replenish the squad and drop average age, adding that the team has over the past year gone through a difficult phase although it was able to proceed to the group stages of AFCON 2014 and reached the 2015 COSAFA semi-final.

The BFA, he said, was hoping for improved performance as the team proceeds into the next games of AFCON 2017.

“We need to continue supporting the team, the technical committee shall be reviewing the performance of the team regularly,” he said.

Sebego also noted that the FA Cup that would be replacing the Coke Cup would resume this year, and that it would be called the  President’s Cup. He added that the BFA former vice president, finance was chairing the organising committee.

“Fixtures and format shall be released as soon as possible. We request structures to cooperate to accommodate the competition,” he said.

Briefing delegates about the position of Tariq Babitseng, Sebego said following the national team trip to Guinea Bissau, the Botswana National Sport Council found financial inconsistencies and mismanagement of the funds in respect of the trip.

He said a committee of three professionals was constituted to investigate the financial aspect of the Guinea Bissau trip.

Furthermore, he said following the report of the committee, the NEC resolved that its findings against Babitseng rendered him unsuitable for the position.

The NEC, he said, found that he was in breach of the code of conduct for BFA officials, and that on the powers vested on the committee by their constitution, they resolved to relieve him of his duties, adding that the NEC would co-opt the another person to fill the position, and that all football structures would be notified. Ends