14 Nov 2023

Former women’s national team coach, Gaoletlhoo ‘Ronaldo’ Nkutlwisang, is still much part of The Mares technical team.

Nkutlwisang, who was appointed assistant coach to Mohambi Saulosi, is still mourning the death of her mother.

Basimanebotlhe Malete, who assisted Nkutlwisang since 2019, has since been appointed head coach. He will be assisted by Tapaphiwa Gaebolae and Jacqueline Gaobinelwe, while Odirile Matlhaku is the technical advisor.

There was confusion after the announcement of the technical team without Nkutlwisang’s name in the mix.

The Botswana Football Association (BFA) secretary general, Mr Mfolo Mfolo, said they have appointed the new technical team to qualify for Africa’s show piece for the second time.

In that regard, Mfolo said they wanted to give Nkutlwisang time to grieve her mother, adding that contrary to what some people were saying, the BFA had not dumped her.

“We want Malete and his assistants to push us to qualify for the WAFCON. Look, we made it in 2022; we cannot afford to miss the next edition,” he said.

The secretary general said they would approach the WAFCON qualifiers with the seriousness they deserve.

Sunday Standard Sport Editor, Botlhale Koothopile, applauded Malete’s appointment in an interview and said his appointment was a step in the right direction.

He said Malete is familiar with women football, having coached at club level as head coach and at national team level as assistant head coach.

“For those of us who watched his UB team, Malete is a young ambitious coach and he plays progressive and entertaining football,” he said.

Koothopile said Malete’s appointment would help him show his potential, adding that he was confident that the team’s chances of qualifying for WAFCON for the second time would improve. ENDS