19 Aug 2015

Legendary football star  Naphtaly ‘Scara’ Kebalepile says it is time the Botswana Football Association (BFA) uses veterans to develop football in the country.

In an interview with BOPA, Kebalepile said Botswana football has grown tremendously and only needs fine tuning to make it competitive.

He cited the country’s qualification for international competitions such as the Africa Nations Cup in 2010 and its run in the COSAFA Cup, as evidence of the local game’s great improvement. He argued that the engagement of legends to develop football at grassroots level will ensure that children develop a love for football at an early age. He urged local football to emulate South Africa, which uses its soccer legends to develop the game.

“They have football academics. They have developed schools for football where children are taught professional football. This should also happen in our country as there are children who are not academically gifted but do well in sports. They deserve to be given a chance,” Kebalepile said.

He said BFA should make arrangements with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development to engage football legends in the development of sports curricula.

“Teaching aids such as videos can be provided to make this a success,” he added.

He described children as good copy cats and said they would be glad to be mentored by their role models. Kebalepile lauded the Re Ba Bona Ha program for its role in football development. He said the programme, which seems to be fading away, gave children a platform to demonstrate their talents. He said that the initiative also enabled children to interact and learn from their peers.

“Tournaments should be held so that pupils compete. This is where we can easily identify talent and do our selections for development,” he said.

He concluded that football is not just a game as one can make a living out of it. Ends