08 Jun 2016

Botswana Football Association (BFA) president hopeful, Maclean Letshwiti, says Botswana football is in a terrible state, therefore needs stability and credible people.

Addressing a press conference in Gaborone yesterday, he said there was no doubt that football was in a downward spiral.

“Football is in a terrible state, so somebody has to show up a hand and we must stop pointing a finger at each other, it is our responsibility that the sport is in the state it is today, so I raise my hand to say yes we both can bring our football back to its glory days,” he said.

Letshwiti, who will be challenging the incumbent BFA president, Tebogo Sebego, at the coming general assembly, said the world over football was all about development, adding that football would not grow if resources were not channelled to development.

He said development was the only thing that would help to produce future stars, adding that his vision was that football should  be regarded as an industry and it must contribute to the economic and social development of the country.

Furthermore, he said football should be sustainable, adding that it should be a national project and it was not solely the responsibility of BFA.

“We must awaken cooperation between all the stakeholders responsible for development, such as government, FIFA and CAF and we should establish a strong relationship with the two bodies,” he said.

He said the reason football in Botswana was regressing was due to lack of development, adding that it was also important to take both the girl and boy child equally in development.

For football to be a marketable product, he said, it was important to develop at a grassroots level, therefore he would ensure that the association had ties and partnerships with primary schools.

“Your future Zebras players are still at school, not who are currently in the national team. Your world cup winners are still schooling so we need to develop them now, so that in the coming 10 years we can reap the fruits of development,” he said.

According to Letshwiti, football should be run by footballers, adding that it was important to look for former players to come and help in development given that they knew what it took to be a footballer.

He, however, said he came to football on a national call and he was not new to football.He said e was in a good position to lead the BFA, as he was a creator, maker and had corporate confidence.

“Again I was a football player and I was in the administration of football when I was only 20 years, I am passionate about soccer, and soccer is my life, generally I have spent 20 years of my life in soccer administration, I have spent resources in soccer,” he said. ENDS