FIFA rebuffs BFA
Sport
The world football governing body (FIFA) has informed the Botswana Football Association (BFA) that it stands by its March 2015 deadline in regard the constituency league debacle.
In essence the BFA correspondence which said that the government will continue to run constituency tournaments in conjunction with the BFA’s technical arm has been declined by FIFA.
In a letter forwarded to the president of the association on September 25, FIFA has noted and acknowledged the progress made with Botswana Government following the nasty issue that government is interfering with football related matters. The FIFA delegation had toured the country on numerous accounts – from May to July 2014 – to assess the situation on the ground.
Upon realising that there is visibly government interference in these tournaments, Blatter’s led governing body gave the association a deadline 0f September 22 to sort out the issue and demonstrate how they intend to tackle the matter going forward.
WeekendSport learns that BFA along with the government submitted their ideas on the 12th of September to FIFA.
“It was resolved that in principle the football portion of the Constituency Sports Tournaments will continue to be administered by Government with technical management by the BFA. It is expected that BFA will make necessary representation to FIFA. It was recognised by all three parties that the tournaments play a very important role towards the promotion of the game of football in the country.
The BFA is to communicate this agreed joint role to FIFA and the expectation is that it will resolve any misunderstandings that may have occurred on the matter in the past,” part of BFA/government communique reads.
Upon analysing that, FIFA decided to provide the BFA with another deadline of March 16, 2015 to bring the constituency tournaments under the sole control of the BFA.
FIFA, according to its response, wants the Sebego led association to clearly demonstrate how they will manage all its affairs independently and with no influence from third parties as per article 17 of FIFA statutes.
FIFA also wants the association to embrace the fact that the constituency tournaments are subordinate to the BFA and that BFA sanctions its organisational frame work, with guidance of article 18 of FIFA laws.
BFA is also expected to clarify to FIFA on how constituency tournaments matches will be played according to the laws of the game and how referee appointments are to be made by the relevant BFA’s referee structure.
In addition FIFA has said it has decided that BFA must also ratify statutes in accordance with the FIFA standard statutes as required under article 13 of FIFA statutes before 16 March 2015.
According to the FIFA response, these requirements as well as the details of the labour division between the BFA and the Botswana Government concerning the tourney must be included within the revised BFA statutes.
FIFA warned that “BFA must comply fully with both above decisions and failure to respect either decision may lead to sanctions provided in the FIFA statutes.”
The world governing body says it will be closely monitoring the situation from its offices in Zurich and Gaborone and will expect the association to provide regular updates on all relevant internal and external BFA meetings.
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.