Rollers to fire Zapata
Sport
Rudolph Zapata’s future at high flying Township Rollers is slowly becoming untenable barely a month before the ink could dry on his two-year contract. A week ago, his coaching situation grew more precarious that the Argentinean gaffer was stopped from drilling the players, the club sources told WeekendSport.
Zapata has never directly conveyed his tactics to Rollers players as his ordeal is looming. The coach was still breaking a sweat over his issue with his former club Gaborone United (GU) concerning his work permit. Highly placed Rollers sources have described Zapata’s situation as a ‘blessing in disguise’. They say the coach never fit the kind of mould their team wanted after the sudden fall of award winning coach Nikola Kavazovic.
Reports indicate that Zapata was a stop-gap coach with sources indicating that the club will soon cast the net wider for his replacement. But Zapata was said to be contemplating taking his job seriously still, with The Blues yet to issue any official statement regarding his pending sacking and a firm interest in, maybe, Kosta Papic.
Zapata had agreed a two-year-deal with Rollers, swapping roles with his predecessor, Kavazovic. He left AFC Leopards from Kenya to accept Rollers offer while Kavazovic dumped Rollers to take Leopards’ challenge. Oddly, both gaffers are suffering the same fate as of now, Kavazovic has already left Kenyan giants.
Before the club's pursuit of another coach emerged, the plan was for the Argentinean to end the season and then have a review on his applications. This campaign is said to be led by club chairperson and some influential members of the committee. All the while, Zapata was asked to win every cup that Kavazovic had clinched- this included playing in the CAF champions’ league. Already the club has fallen from this competition.
The committee is said to be intent that if it is decides at this point to let Zapata go, there should be a candidate in place who has agreed terms and would be ready to take over immediately to prepare and propel Rollers back to challenging top honors. This is the strategy under which a new coach is approached. However, it is said discussions between Zapata and Rollers management regarding financial terms and contractual clauses are said to be at the stage where a contract is ready to be terminated.
Zapata’s position grew more precarious once the team started recording poor results even on their back yard. The management always felt the gaffer was destroying their style of play hence players failing to cope. Rollers has never scored more than 2 goals since the departure of Kavazovic.
Sport
It’s do or die for Zebras
The senior national team, the Zebras, is currently in Equatorial Guinea to for an African Cup of Nations Qualifiers tie. Before they departed, the team’s coach, Mogomotsi Mpote, had his troops train in Morocco. This was through the agreement between the two countries.
The agreement between the BFA and the Fédération Moroccan Football Association states that the two nations will work together to organize friendly matches between their respective national teams. It also allows the establishment of football camps for the youth categories (U-15, U-17, and U-20), this includes women’s national teams.
The national team has played over 180 minutes in its two qualifying matches against Tunisia and Libya. Currently, the Zebras, Lesotho and Liberia are the only teams that haven’t scored yet in the competition (this is correct by press time on Friday).
Before the match against Equatorial Guinea match, the local boys who were once known as the whipping boys of Africa in the early 2000s, were languishing at the bottom of the log standings in group J. They lost their first match away to Libya on June 1, 2022. However, they managed to salvage a point against Tunisia last year.
Before the team left for Equatorial Guinea, coach Mpote urged his players to focus on keeping their hopes of making a return trip to the AFCON finals alive after an 11 year absence since the maiden appearance in 2012. He noted that they would not allow their opponents to score and would ensure that they would get a draw.
Despite the various changes that have occurred in the two countries’ football landscape, the two teams have only met once before. In 2010, the local boys defeated the Equatorial Guinea team in a friendly match, which ended in an emphatic win for the visitors. Since then, the two sides have realised different fortunes in FIFA rankings, with Equatorial Guinea ranked 51 places above the Zebras.
Meanwhile, in their last six games, Guinea has only managed to win one of them. They drew with Rwanda and Togo in September 2022 friendlies. They have found the back of the net just twice in their six games. On the other hand, the Zebras, won one match against Zambia and lost four on their way to finishing at the bottom of the group with four points. At the conclusion of their previous AFCON campaign, the local boys traveled to Zambia and secured a draw.
MPOTE CONFIDENT
Despite the recent results of the Guinean team, which have only managed to draw with Rwanda and Togo in their last six matches, coach Mpote is still confident that his team will perform well against the hosts.
According to the head coach, the local boys have the necessary skills and resources to perform well against any country. He noted that the team’s coaches have been studying abroad to gain a deeper understanding of the various aspects of football.
“Tactically they should also be ready. We need your (Botswana fans) usual support, when we come back from Equatorial Guinea, we will go to Francistown, and we will need you. You are our 12th player, and you are very important to us.”
OBED ITANI CHILUME STADIUM CERTIFIED
This week, the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) Tuelo Serufho revealed that the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium will host the return leg of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between the local boys and Equatorial Guinea. The venue had initially failed an inspection test conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). However, following the completion of the necessary works, the stadium was allowed to host the match.
According to BNSC Chief, Tuelo Serufho, the various requirements that the stadium must meet included having a designated parking area for the media and spectators, as well as having signage that will guide the spectators. He also noted that the venue now has a world-class media area.
Sport
Jagdish Shah rejects Rollers society
Township Rollers, one of the country’s most decorated football clubs with 15 premier league titles, is finding itself in a precarious situation as its long-term chief financier, Jagdish Shah, threatens to dump them if the society does not bow down to his demand of forfeiting their 20 percent interest in the company.
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Sport
Orange injects P350 000 into Phikwe marathon
Mobile network Orange Botswana is committed to supporting the development of local sport. Through its sponsorship, the company will be able to promote and market the sport. According to Maano Masisi, the company believes that sport can unite people from different backgrounds.
He stated that through the sponsorship of the marathon, the company will help promote healthy lifestyles and unity among the people of Selebi Phikwe.
The Selebi Phikwe Marathon is scheduled to take place on July 29, 2023. It is expected that it will attract international, regional, and social runners. A total of P216 000 has been allocated for the prize money for the first ten places in the 42.2 km race. For the 15km and 10km races, the LOC will give away prizes to the first five places.