Braun’s tour of duty ends
German football expert, Carolin Braun’s fruitful three-year tour of duty in Botswana has come to an end. Braun has been in the country spearheading developing and expanding football structures, particularly the training of coaches and education of young people.
A send-off ceremony was held for Braun at Lekidi Football Centre this week where she was lauded for her hard work. She is heading to Germany before starting a role at FIFA.
Speaking at the ceremony, German ambassador, Margit Hellwig-Boette said she hardly met Braun in Gaborone as she was always somewhere between Francistown and Maun, Lobatse and Kasane, Gantsi and Mochudi.
“What mattered to her was to be on the field with young people and to help them, especially girls, to grow in football. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, which slowed down every activity, she managed to do her job, to be present and to make a difference.
She was an excellent ‘ambassador in a training suit’,” she said. Hellwig-Boette said Braun helped to modernise football training in Botswana. She said the football expert was in charge of new technologies at Botswana Football Association (BFA) and managed to introduce equipment that helps to make training more efficient.
During her stay, Braun produced over 300 BFA-License graduates. BFA president, Maclean Letshwiti said Botswana and Germany have developed a long-lasting relationship with the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) programme.
He said BFA realised the need for development in football and they looked at the prominence of Germany, which is a powerhouse in football. “It was therefore easy to develop a strategy to bring Dr Braun through the help of the DOSB and Botswana National Olympic Committee.
We are grateful for the partnership. Dr Braun was courageous and contributed to the technical department of the BFA. All these tasks require selflessness, tenacity and a professional individual,” he said. For her part, Braun said it has been an exciting journey for her at the BFA.
“To sum up a threeyear tenure would be difficult for me to say. We have seen a lot of coaches training, the women national team advancing and all other technical development. This is a combination of teamwork and dedication to the game,” Braun said.