14 Mar 2021

Botswana Football Association president, Maclean Letshwiti has joined the CAF executive committee as an additional member.

Letshwiti was elected into the committee during CAF’s elective congress which was held in Rabat, Morocco on March 12.

Four candidates were vying for the two slots reserved for COSAFA region, however Letshwiti came position two with 31 votes, after Elvis Raja Chetty of Seychelles who was voted by 40 delegates.

After the elections, Letshwiti was quoted by Botswana Football Association saying his win was a victory for Botswana, the continent and the entire football prospects.

Botswana, he said had been playing second fiddle for long and time was nigh to hold their own against the greatest in the world of sport, particularly football.

Sunday Standard sport editor, Botlhale Koothopile who has been following CAF assembly, said in an interview that it had been a long time since a Motswana held an executive position at CAF.

He said the last time Botswana had someone at the higher position at the football governing body was in 2006 with the recently departed Ismail Bhamjee.

Ironically, he said Letshwiti was voted to the position on the same day that Bhamjee departed the world.

He said Letshwiti’s election into the CAF executive committee was therefore a good development for Botswana football.
According to Koothopile, having   him at the decision making table would help  the country to  be the first to know of any new developments at both CAF and FIFA and would hopefully help to benefit better from the continental mother body’s  programmes.

He said coming from a country like Botswana which was struggling to transform, one would hope Letshwiti would put in a case before CAF on how they could help not only Botswana, but also other struggling African countries to transform and professionalise their football.

“Knowing how costly it is to play in the CAF continental tournaments by individual clubs, one also hopes he will argue for improved monies for teams competing at the preliminary stages of CAF. At individual level, we can now hope that it opens a way for Batswana to find employment or work engagements at CAF,” Koothopile said.

It is for such reasons, he said Letshwiti should get all the support he needed from Batswana to succeed.

“Letshwiti’s success at CAF would be Botswana’s own success. It will again open a way for other future Batswana football leaders and administrators to find positions at CAF and even FIFA,” he said.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Patrice Motsepe who was unopposed was sworn at the same event, according to a press release from CAF.

The newly elected CAF executive committee held its first meeting on March 13 and Senegalese Augustin Senghor was appointed first vice-president.

Mauritania Football Federation president, Ahmed Yahya is second vice president and the third vice president is Suleiman Waberi of Djibouti.

Seidou Njoya of Cameroon was appointed as the fourth vice president and Kanizat Ibrahim of Comoros is the fifth vice president while Veron Mosengo-Omba is the new CAF general secretary. ENDS