Mfolo’s admission on national teams’ failures
In the wake of poor performances by national teams this year, the Botswana Football Association (BFA) CEO, Mfolo Mfolo has given an honest assessment of the challenges.
The Zebras failed to qualify for the Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) and stuttered in the COSAFA Cup quarterfinals. The Under-23 side played only 180 minutes in their quest to qualify for the Olympic Games as they fell to Eswatini in the first round.
The Under-20 side also failed to make any impression in the COSAFA Cup where they won only one out of their three group-stage matches. The Mares, although at a high level, won only one game in their debut Women Africa Cup of Nations finals. The Zebras rankings have been steadily falling after reaching an all-time high of 53 in 2010, although there was a brief reprieve under Peter Butler in 2016 when the team rose to 86th. Mfolo believes there is need for a mindset shift to get things back on track.
“Coaches are appointed late and do not get the players into the competitive state. Secondly, 95% of our squads lack game time at our local competition,” Mfolo said. He said the lack of international friendly matches is also costly.
“We do not play an international game in preparation for the international arena. Training prepares the body of players to withstand stress while friendly games develop competitive skills, which you can never get from training,” Mfolo said.
He said the solution is to get back to basics and focus on the young players.
“We need to enforce the youth policy so that we have our players being exposed to competitive football at an early age.” Additionally, Mfolo said there is a need to enforce the local philosophy as it encourages coaches to place more emphasis on offensive play.
“After all, the game of football is won by scoring goals,” Mfolo said.
He said clubs must also be at the forefront of player development.
“BFL clubs must take a lead in player development because they are better placed to acquire qualified coaches for youth teams,” he said. However, there are concerns most clubs are financially hamstrung as most revenue streams have dried. The league is without a sponsor and the new season will kick off with no grants for clubs.
Mfolo said talent identification and retention is key to the growth and success of the game. “We need to activate our Centre for School Excellence programme so that we can determine the future of our rising stars and monitor them closely, not depend on the clubs only,” he added.