23 Mar 2014

For any sporting code to be able to reach a standard that can compete with the best in the world, it needs to put more effort in its grassroots development.

Addressing the Francistown Regional Football Association (FRAFA) on March 21, national team coach, Peter Butler said there was a lot of talent amongst young football players who had to be given all the necessary mentorship to be able to deliver.

He said in an effort to see that this talent was not wasted, he would liaise with relevant stakeholders to see to it that grassroot programmes and academies were implemented in the second city.

Butler noted that for the talent to be unleashed, coaches in the region would have to be imparted with as much information as possible so they could be ready to develop young talent.  

Butler said the coaching clinics premises should be located within the city so that the football association could have as much qualified coaches in the northern region as it can.

He noted that good players could only be found where there were creative coaches who can come up with simple strategies that players could easily follow during games.

The national team coach stated that such coaches should be able to come up with key points of what they were talking about, and it should be relevant during the game being played or during training.

He emphasised that he did not believe in the theory whereby players were picked on favouritism, saying fairness should be the way.

The Zebras coach noted that the fear of using players aged between 15-18 years should be a thing of the past hence featuring young players in the major leagues should be highly emphasised.

He highlighted that as the progression on grassroots development brought about viable results then they will be need to come up with leagues for the young stars which will have to be sponsored.

Regarding the talent scout for the senior national team, Butler said he was planning on having a tournament that will see players from the northern region face the southern region. This, he explained, will help him identify players who had been unnoticed especially in the northern region.  ENDS