24 Apr 2024

Botswana Football Association (BFA) is developing a Safeguarding policy, which will be shared with experts soon for finalisation. This was said by BFA safeguarding focal point officer, Sidney Kafeka in a workshop held in Maun on Monday to share with team managers, coaches and other stakeholders in Nhabe region on the existence and complexity of abuse and violence in football as well as risk factors and impact.

In the policy, Kafeka said there would be procedures for responding to safeguarding concerns, guidelines on behaviour and how to minimise risks, among others. 

He said the policy would enforce safeguarding standards and help guide the football family.  Safeguarding refers to the action taken to ensure that children, young people and vulnerable adults are safe from harm when involved in football activities. He further urged football officials to embrace change and develop football by creating a safe and conducive environment and safeguarding of all in sport. He said football was a social sport and as such it had a lot of rooms for abuse and encouraged football officials to be vigilant all the time.

When any member of the football family is subjected to or engage in abusive behaviour or misconduct, he said it undermined their mission of promoting the integrity of football and the values of football and underscored the need to take safeguarding seriously and report any forms of abuse. 

Also, he apprised the gathering on the different forms of abuse in football and appealed to officials to try by all means to avoid such abuses at any time but instead promote a healthy and friendly environment for all.

Nhabe Regional Football Association chairperson, Norman Sebele hailed BFA’s efforts to up-skill football officials and stakeholders working with children and young people on the principles of safeguarding in football. 

Sebele child protection was an important part of safeguarding and it aimed at keeping all safe from harm as well as ensuring that participation in sport had a positive experience. 

He said the workshop came at the right time as the region had experienced an increase in the number of girls joining football clubs this year as compared to the previous years.

He said the girl-child needed special care and believed that the safeguarding workshop would help coaches and all involved in sport to ensure their (girls) rights were protected from harassment, abuse and exploitation, among others. Although, he acknowledged that everyone, including boys, had the right to protection from abuse be it physical, emotional, sexual or bullying, ‘we believe that our officials will do the right thing going forward as they are now equipped with information and knowledge.’  An official from Maun Terrors Football Club, Kebonyethebe Dikgathatso thanked BFA for the workshop saying it was an eye opener as many had been doing mistakes because of lack of knowledge. 

“This workshop is a welcome development to our region more so that we have been complaining that our mother body has sidelined the northern side when it comes to programme implementation.

 It was very informative and educative and we believe it will help us to correct what we have been doing wrong going forward,” he added. 

He also called on the BFA to bring more educational programmes to the Northern side to benefit the football family. ENDS