Green Lovers ring the changes
PALAPYE: The newly appointed Green Lovers’ leadership led by Solomon Ramochotlhwane has vowed to keep departed Oitsile ‘Chips’ Koolese’s fire burning at the Serowe-based club.
The Green Submarines, as Lovers is affectionately known, were the epitome of development under the departed coach.
Chips was renowned for his keen interest in working with young players. The coach died early this year. He produced amongst, others, Kabelo Seakanyeng.
The Green Submarines elected a new committee that is headed by the experienced Ramochotlhwane as club chairperson. Ramochotlhwane has previously been Chips’ right-hand man in the dugout.
He is acquainted with the resource struggles the departed coach perennially decried. To honour the late coach, the new chairperson said he would remain president of the club. Ramochotlhwane was elected alongside Annah Charles (vice-chairperson), Pako Botshelo and Gosala
mang Maitiso as secretary and vice secretary respectively.
Onneile Charles is the treasurer, Johnson Itumeleng brand manager, Odirile Sibanda welfare manager, Lesego Sehotso communications manager, Kagiso Samson technical manager and Mosimanegape Kaisara was elected an additional member.
Ramochotlhwane said his new committee had dedicated men and women with a strong background in football matters, both at Lovers and nationally. He said their mandate is to make
Green Lovers a national and international brand of note.
To achieve that he said, in the short-term tey target to make an immediate impact by promoting the club to the elite league or reaching promotional playoffs. Lovers struggled last season and were involved in the relegation battle when the season was cut short.
“The team manager was there when we gained promotion for the first time to the premiership and stayed with the team until it relegated. Sibanda helped Sankoyo (Bush Bucks) promote to the premiership. It tells a lot about the brand we intend to build and where we wish to take the team,” he said.
He believes they would turn around the fortunes of the club and bring back the academy to the state it was in when ‘Chips’ departed. He said they had scheduled a retreat early next year for a policy framework.
“For now we will meet the technical team to ensure they recruit along with our framework, but early next year we would meet for a strategy retreat as we endeavour to transform the club to a corporate entity,” he said.