KOLAGANO NOT SURPRISED BY FIRST ZEBRAS CALL-UP
FRANCISTOWN: Eighteen-year-old Sua Flamingoes midfielder Tlamelo Kolagano has said that he was not surprised by his recent call up to the senior national team.
Kolagano is amongst a few players from the national Under-20 squad that have earned their first Zebras call ups. The Zebras will soon begin preparations for a clash against Zambia in November.
The match will be a revised fixture for the 2021 AFCON qualifiers, which were postponed due to COVID-19.
“When we were at Under-20 COSAFA Cup last year in Zambia, we were told that some of the players in the squad will be promoted to the senior national team. I was very optimistic that I would be one of them because I was amongst those who were consistent in the team (Under-20). That is why I am not surprised by the recent senior national team call up,” he said.
Kolagano joined Sua Flamingoes in January this year on loan from City Eagles, a club that campaigns in Division One in the Gaborone region. Until the league was abruptly stopped owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kolagano had not featured for Flamingoes. His loan deal expired in June, but he is expected to join Flamingoes on a permanent basis soon.
“I am excited about the national team call up, but I will not let the excitement go to my head. I will use my first camp as an opportunity to learn. My target has always been to be selected for the senior national team. My main ambition is to establish myself in the senior national team. I am capable of doing that,” he said.
Kologano is one the few young players who many pundits believe have a very bright future in football. Amongst his many accolades, Kolagano was part of the Botswana Primary Schools Sports Association (BOPSSA) team that represented Botswana in Zambia in 2014. In 2016 he was in the Under-18 squad that travelled to Sweden for the Gothia Cup.
The Gothia Cup is the world’s largest youth football tournament and is played in Gothenburg, Sweden annually. During the same year, he was part of the Botswana Copa Coca Cola team that went for a training camp in South Africa. He has also represented Gaborone at the Botswana games.
Other Under 20 players who have earned senior national team call-ups are Portugal-based goalkeeper Yovan Nikolic, Botsile Sakana and Larona Modisamang.