FOOTBALL, LIES AND GREED
A. It teaches people about our football and the challenges of the sport. If you are inspired to be involved in the game, it will give you a different perspective on how to deal with those issues. It is an eye opener; people need to know what is happening in our sports. Our football is like a cul-de-sac. We change the president and the body remains the same. How many times have we had Senki Sesinyi, Marshlow Motlogelwa in that committee and Segolame Ramotlhwa rotating in the committees? Same problems will always prevail hence there is no progress.
Q. What are some of the challenges you faced when writing the book?
A. I had no sponsor. I almost gave up on the dream. I started by printing 10 copies with my salary. I approached my employer, Boitekanelo College, to help me with the launch and Botho University also came on board. The launch was very successful. Dr Molosiwa came on board as my Manager and she also helped in editing it.
Q. From your side, why do you think our football is dying?
A. It is all about personal vendettas at Lekidi. When Tebogo Sebego came into leadership, he created enemies because he repaid some and forgot others in his campaign team. There were others who wanted to be in control and he did not listen to them. Maclean Letshwiti, the current BFA President, was his backbencher and Sebego did not want to listen to his ideas and he decided to challenge him for the top post. He came in with no football agenda but wanted to prove Sebego wrong. Whatever he implements, he wants to show Sebego who he is and how he forgot to serve football. Sebego had a constitution, sponsors in place, which increased value and money every season. Letshwiti forgot to read the manual and therefore we lost the BTC sponsorship despite being a celebrated businessman. We need a president with football administration in mind. We always want to prove each other wrong and by doing that there are lot of pit falls.
Q. In 2010, you came up with the e-ticketing concept, what happened to it?
A. We were doing well in our piloting project with Extension Gunners and BDF XI and in the midst of that, after selling the Gunners and BMC game, there was a press conference. We were never told about its agenda, only to find out it is about e-ticketing and that it is going to be adopted by Botswana Premier League. They engaged another company to do it only for the project to fail. It was some kind of sabotage because there is a lot of backstabbing in football. This was meant to promote accountability and transparency because games get well attended and the next thing players are not getting paid and management claim there is no money.
Q. When Palapye All Stars started, it was a development side, now it is in division one although it was once promoted to first division, tell us a bit about its journey.
A. The team was started by Ambrose Chima from Nigeria and I was the General Manager in 2012. In 2015, he left and I took over the running of the team. We are following the right development path, which is why we went to first division. Our mandate is the development of players so that professional teams can buy our products. We start afresh almost every season, which is why we are not consistent on the league. Every two years, we have a new group of players. We also have an academy that drills U13, 15 and 17. We are doing well on that.
Q. In 2013, your academy introduced the tri-nation model, how has it been doing in terms of players’ development?
A. We have tri-nation model which includes three countries; South Africa, Lesotho and Botswana. During the Easter holidays, we host U15 and 17 tournaments in Palapye at BIUST. September, we go to South Africa and December Lesotho. There is a cultural exchange among the three nations. Morupule Mine, Broadway Motors, Golden Home, Wusa have come on board to sponsor the tournament. Through this initiative, Bakang Hope Boima is currently with Highlands Park U17 team and he was spotted during these tournaments in South Africa. Last year, he was awarded player of the year. We have a lot of scholarship opportunities for this project but our players are not doing well academically and do not meet the requirements. Every year, Lesotho sends two players to United States of America. Our players fail academically and as of next year, we are going to run a fully fledged academy and these players will stay there. We have signed a deal with Lebogang Tutorials, which will be helping our players with their school work.
Q. Who is your inspiration?
A. The late Chips Keotswele of Green Lovers. He started the team from nothing, spending his family resources running the club and it ended up in the Premier League. Jwaneng Galaxy Coach, Oris Radipotsane, is also my inspiration, he groomed me when he was at Motlakase Power Dynamos. The other person is Jomo Sono of Jomo Cosmos football team, who did it al as a coach, manager, driver and I look at him and say, “I’m just like him”. I draw a lot of inspiration from these people.
Q. What advice can you give to those aspiring to be Sports Administrators?
A. For something to happen, you don’t wait, put it into action and someone will see your efforts and come on board. When we started tri-nations, we did not have sponsors and now we have more than five. You have to be ready to make a lot of sacrifices, be committed and the results will come. You should also have passion for sports.
Q. Thank God it’s Friday, what are your plans for the weekend?
A. Weekends are dedicated strictly to football. On Friday, I will be travelling to Palapye as we are working on preparations for the tri-nation tournament. On Saturday, my team is playing against Palapye Swallows and on Sunday, we host Moshopha Tigers at Dikabeya.