Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Tumiso Rakgare says government is pinning her hope on Botswana Football Association (BFA) to enhance its chances of hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
Speaking during BFA ordinary general assembly on October 10, Rakgare said they were banking on the association to boost the country’s bid when submitted.
“We would also bank on you to ensure there is a team ready to take on the continental powerhouses and not only add to the numbers. Who can forget the determination and grit we showed ahead of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations? I have no doubt that with proper structures, we can do far better by 2027,” he said.
Furthermore, he said with preparations for the 2027 AFCON and other international events Botswana wished to host, stakeholders should see growth in the number of professional footballers and other athletes as well as increasing employment numbers in the process.
If Botswana was to host AFCON and other events, he said sports followers the country would attract, would not only be sport tourists but potential consumers of other types of tourism activities in future; thereby contributing to the country’s GDP.
On grass development, Rakgare said the association needed systems and processes that would ensure that year in year out, they produced quality players to qualify for major junior football tournaments at CAF and FIFA levels such as Under-17 and Under-20 events.
He said it would be far-fetched for the country to hope to qualify for FIFA World Cup, when juniors had not played at youth events.
As such, he encouraged football stakeholders to apply their minds and explore ways of transforming performances of junior national teams, both boys and girls.
“When we churn out good players at youth level year in year out, we will no doubt grow the love and support of what the great Brazilian legend, Pele, called the ‘Beautiful Game’ in our great Republic,” he said.
Good governance, he said influenced organisation’s set objectives and helped achieve them and also by outlining rules and procedures and assisting to determine means for optimising and evaluating performance. MORE….
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