10 Aug 2016

Botswana Football Association (BFA) presidential candidate, McLean Letshwiti says the rot within the national sport needs someone of his corporate experience. 

Speaking during the manifesto launch of his campaign team, Letshwiti said a lot of what happened within Botswana football in recent times left a lot of negative publicity surrounding the sport, but visionary leadership could restore the game. 

“I have been associated with football as a player, administrator, club financier, and someone who personally assists footballers, such as three youngsters who are currently in a South African football academy. 

But, in recent times, I have been ashamed of being a part of the game, football has lost its direction, we need to change things,” he said. 

The BFA elective annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for Saturday in Gaborone pits incumbent BFA president Tebogo Sebego in a three-man presidential contest against challengers Letshwiti and Solomon Mantswe. 

Letshwiti said key to his administration if elected would be to restore the dignity of the game. 

“Football’s image has been badly wounded, but there are many people of integrity involved with the game.  

I recently traveled throughout the country, meeting regional football administrators and found out that there are many clever people running the game. 

On the question of how football’s image got soiled, everyone kept pointing in the direction of Lekidi, the BFA headquarters. 

That is where we need to make the change,” Letshwiti said. 

He said he had pledged to devote the next four years of his life to making football a self-supporting industry. 

Letshwiti said key to his manifesto was development, saying that if elected; the BFA under his tenure would focus on grassroots football development and catering for the needs of all national teams. 

“The core mandate of football associations is to implement football development, look after the national teams, the senior squad and the junior ones, as well as the judicial aspects of the game. 

It is not the core duty of the association to run the elite league,” Letshwiti said. 

He urged stakeholders to support his campaign, stating that he envisaged creating jobs within the football fraternity if given a chance to lead the game. 

He would help create as many as 5 000 jobs.

Letshwiti and his lobby list, which includes Maslow Motlogelwa, Ookeditse Malesu and Tapiwa Marumo were endorsed by former football administrator Puma Mathware and corporate leader Joshua Galeforolwe. 

Mathware pointed to Letshwiti’s bold decisions as a football administrator over the years, while Galeforolwe said that a leadership involving Letshwiti and Motlogelwa would ensure financial stability. Ends