27 Jun 2016

The youthful national football team that reached  the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) Cup final in Namibia  has shown great potential.

The team lost 2-3 to South Africa in the final.

Youth, sports and culture minister, Thapelo Olopeng, said the team’s potential was evident.

He said this when welcoming the team in Gaborone on Sunday evening. 

Olopeng said it was encouraging that younger players were given room to compete in the tournament and they gave a good account of themselves.

“I congratulate the coach, looking at the team selected and their average age, as well as the talent they displayed. I can say the future of football in this country is bright. There is light at the end of the tunnel. We can go on to win a regional tournament like COSAFA and do well even at continental level,” Olopeng said.

He said the Zebras displayed quality football and their professional approach against quality opponents bode well for the future. Despite not winning the tournament, Olopeng encouraged the Zebras not to despair.

“Do not let the loss discourage you. In football there are various aspects that can contribute to a loss.  The fact that we had the man of the match in the final and the player of the tournament coming from the Zebras shows what we are capable of. In the end we technically lost the cup, but we should not lose hope,” he said.

In an interview, Zebras coach Peter Butler said his team had played well against solid opposition.

“It is hard to sum up the emotions really. You are happy that the team played well over the three games, but you are disappointed in the manner with which we lost the final. In the end, we have so many positives to take from that tournament,” Butler said.

Captain, Joel Mogorosi, said his side had been motivated from the beginning of the tournament.

“After losing the AFCON qualifier to Uganda in Francistown, we sat down, mapped a way forward and decided that we need to bounce back, starting by winning this COSAFA Cup. In last year’s tournament we beat hosts South Africa only to lose concentration in the next games. This year we were focused throughout, we came very close and I am proud of the younger players,” Mogorosi said.

He said although they were bitterly disappointed with some of the refereeing decisions and were quite emotional at the final whistle, they had accepted the loss, and would use the tournament as a springboard for further success.

Zebras Onkabetse Mankgatai won the player of the tournament and man of the match (final) awards, while Lebogang ‘Tallie’ Ditsile also brought home a man of the match award for his semi final performance against the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ends