10 Aug 2015

Botswana Football Association (BFA) held an Under-17 national women team selection trials for the north in Francistown on Saturday August 8.

The BFA women development officer, Barobi Ngwako said the trials were held to select a team that would participate in the preliminary games to qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2016 slated for Jordan from September 30 to October 21.

Ngwako said they had invited all eight regions, but that only Chobe, Francistown, Tswapong and Boteti honoured the trials while Central North, Central South, Selebi Phikwe and Nhabe failed to attend.

“According to my supervisors since I am new in the office, it shows that most regions have a tendency of not honouring trials, citing that they were not informed in time. Because this one is was started by me, I can assure you that I sent every region a correspondence requesting them to send players for trials,” she said.

However, Ngwako noted that lack of financial support and transport might be the leading factors that contributed to some regions’ failure to bring players to trials, although the BFA promised to feed and provide accommodation for players.

She further said women football was not given full support because they meet players during trials, and that it gives the coach a lot of work to prepare the team.

Chobe women football secretary general, Carlos Sambaya admitted that they received invitations early and started scouting, selecting players and arranging for transport.

He also admitted that transport was a major challenge at regions and that they requested transport from the Central Transport Organisation (CTO) and Chobe District Council, but they failed to secure one.

He said they were helped by Motlhokomedi Robert with his personal transport. Sambaya said failing to bring players to trials denies them an opportunity to display their skill and also demoralises players.

The U-17 women head coach, Olorilwe Mogapi said due to lack of regions not honouring trials, they end up selecting available players. “It is a challenge to me, but I will try to use what I have to benefit Batswana,” Mogapi said.

She pleaded with the relevant officials to have a development structure at an early age to overcome some of the problems they encounter. Ngwako said from the beginning of September, the national team should be selected and ready to go for a camp because the team was fixtured against Namibia in their first leg of the preliminary game billed for November. The away second leg is scheduled to take place in December.

“We first participated in this competition in 2008 and our best performance was qualifying for the second round after beating Lesotho, and qualified to the next round where we were knocked out by Ghana,” Ngwako said. BOPA