10 Sep 2024

Three candidates will contest for the presidential seat of the Botswana Football Association (BFA) during the Palapye elective general assembly on Saturday.

The trio include incumbent Maclean Letshwiti, the current vice president-technical, Masego Nchingane and former BFA vice president-administration, Tariq Babitseng. 

Some of the football pundits are of the view that the Palapye elective general assembly is a football defining congress, as it has huge bearing for the future of Botswana football. 

Although the other two candidates have laid out their manifestos, Letshwiti said in an interview that his was a continuation, hence there was no need to come up with a manifesto. 

He, however, said he had a 10-point agenda for advancing football in Botswana which encompassed, governance and financial stability, investing in infrastructure, strengthening grassroots development, investing in youth as the future of football, growing women’s football, and raising the standard of the national team’s performance. 

It also includes raising the standard of refereeing, growing capacity building for football administrators, internal and external corporate partnership, as well as professionalism and commercialisation. 

“Under my leadership, the BFA has made significant strides in strengthening our governance structures. We have undertaken statutory reforms to align our practices with FIFA’s regulations, ensuring that our operations are transparent, accountable, and in line with international standards,” he said. 

He said their commitment to integrity in football was unwavering, adding that they have implemented strict measures to combat match fixing and manipulation, reinforcing their zero-tolerance stance against any form of corruption.

He said their approach included regular anti-doping education and stringent testing procedures to ensure that the integrity of their competitions was upheld. In addition to these reforms, he said they have strengthened their financial controls and diversified our revenue streams. 

“These measures not only build trust among our stakeholders but also ensure that we are well-positioned to attract further investment in football development,” he said. 

On the other hand, Nchigane said if given the opportunity to lead the association, he would come up with the association vision, termed ‘The BFA Vision 2024-28’. He said he would ensure that all were performing in the BFA, and that the BFA Secretariat played a facilitating and supporting role to all the regions and that structures of football were working at the end of his term. 

He said that would be achieved by immediately handing over Botswana Football League back its autonomy status. 

“As I have been the BFA board rep at the BFL, I am all aware that we have a structure ready to run its affairs. The constitution, MoUs and rules and regulations are in place to run a successful commercialised BFL, and we will start with constituting an independent board as per the requirements of the constitution and MoU,” he said. 

Furthermore, he said they would empower and support the regions to run their affairs.

 “If we are genuine to improve football, we believe that decentralisation is the modern approach to take,” said. 

In that regard the regional chairpersons should be responsible for their regions acting as Regional Football Association presidents and the BFA acting as a supervisory and support arm. 

Babitseng said he would be focusing on amongst others, good governance and financial prudence, adding that his administration would prioritise transparency and accountability in all financial matters. 

He said they would also restore stakeholder confidence through adherence to good corporate governance principles and maintaining open communication with all the stakeholders. 

“This includes regular engagement with regional associations, clubs, partners and sponsors. 

Furthermore, my administration will promote ethical values and integrity, compliance to statutes and regulations as set out by the Association, and any laws that the Association is subject to,” he said. 

Talking about grassroots development, he said they would invest in youth leagues across all the 17 regions of the BFA, ensuring that young talent had the resources and opportunities to grow. 

He added that by enhancing youth competitions and training facilities, they would build a strong foundation for the future of Botswana football. 

He said their goal was to establish technical centres in key regions, providing world-class training facilities that would benefit players, coaches, and referees alike.

 “We will prioritise the construction of additional playing fields and ensure that all regions have access to quality infrastructure,” he said. 

Regarding inclusivity and women’s football empowerment, he said they were deeply committed to promoting gender equality in football, adding they would empower women’s football by including women in key decision-making positions and providing dedicated resources to develop the women’s league. 

“Additionally, we will ensure that girls have equal opportunities to participate in youth football programmes, while also implementing robust safeguarding measures to protect their well-being and create a safe, supportive environment for their development,” he said. 

Furthermore, he said it was important that they enhance Botswana’s football reputation by improving their international football rankings and securing strategic partnerships, as well as elevating Botswana’s standing on the continental and global stages. 

“Our goal is to make Botswana a competitive force in African football, with a national team that consistently performs at the highest levels,” he said. Meanwhile, the position for vice president  one would be contested for by Maokaneng Bontshetse, and Phadza Butale. 

Carlos Sebina and Tico Kamati are expected to battle it out for the position of vice president two. For the additional members, there are five candidates; Normal Sebele, Goemeone Letebele, Bathusi Rathari, Rabbie Ratshosa, Moreotsile Juta, while Suzie Montsho and Thabang Shadikong will tussle it for additional female member. Ends