Zebras look to young bucks for Bafana clash

BOTSWANA coach Stanley Tshosane says it was necessary to introduce new young players into his squad for the World Cup qualifier against South Africa as the country continues to try and develop into a regional powerhouse.

Tshosane axed 10 players from the squad that did duty at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations finals for the matches against Central African Republic (away, June 2) and South Africa (home, June 9), including leading striker Jerome Ramatlhakwane.

He says by introducing new players at the start of a World Cup cycle he is taking a gamble with qualification for Brazil 2014, but insists too that his new-look side should not be underestimated.

“Our planning is based on short, medium and long-term objectives and not just the World Cup qualifiers,” The Zebras coach said.

“We have other competitions that we enter and what we are doing now is building a squad that can be competitive over a number of years. We have lost some experience, but I am also very excited by some of the young players we have brought in.

“Remember football in Botswana is still an amateur sport, although we are moving in the right direction in terms of bringing professionalism to the game.

“And by bringing these young players into a professional set-up in the national team, we hope to get the best out of them.”

Bafana Bafana have no friendly matches lined-up prior to their June 9 meeting with Botswana, just a home qualifier with Ethiopia six days earlier, but the Zebras will play two games prior to the start of their campaign.

“We are hosting Lesotho on May 23 and then will travel out of the country for another friendly. I cannot disclose where because the details still need to be finalised, but the game will happen,” said Tshosane.

And he says that playing the qualifier against South Africa at the tiny University of Gaborone Stadium will likely favour neither side, with the small pitch ensuring a compact game.

“It is unfortunate that we have had to use this venue but it is the only pitch in the country that is suitable between now and September. It is certainly not ideal. The pitch is very small though so that is something the technical teams will have to plan for, it may mean playing a bit differently to how we would usually,” Tshosane says.

The date, kick-off time and venue of the Bafana match has been transmitted to Fifa.

It will be played on Saturday June 9 at 3pm at the University of Botswana (UB) Stadium, which takes just 8 000 spectators and faces the possibility of being overrun for the game.

It’s the only venue available to Botswana because of pitch problems at the National Stadium in Gaborone and the new venue in Lobatse.

Both have capacities of more than 20 000, but have been ruled out because the fields are unplayable.

Botswana had considered ceding home-ground advantage in the Group A game because of fears that security at the UB Stadium would be inadequate.

They had first asked the South Africa Football Association to host the June 9 clash and Botswana to play at home in next year’s return game, but Safa, not surprisingly, rejected this proposal.

Then the Botswana Football Association (BFA) considered the possibility of hosting the game across the border in Mmabatho, but this was quickly shelved when the idea caused a storm of protest in Gaborone.

Playing at the UB Stadium creates a major headache for Botswana officials because it could be difficult to control the number of spectators expected to want to see Bafana Bafana in action.

Botswana fans are desperate to see their improving side humble their more populous neighbours.

It also denies Botswana a chance for a major revenue earning opportunity.

Gaborone newspapers claim the BFA is bankrupt and a potential to fix their finances is now denied them because of the limited number of spectators they can accommodate.

Tickets prices have yet to be set, but travelling fans from South Africa can expect to pay anything from R300 upwards.