BY DUNCAN KGANGKENNA
Botswana Football Association (BFA) has warned it will not compromise on standards it has set for premier league teams in the 2020/21 season.
All the premiership teams will face expulsion from the league if they fail to meet the compliance manual.
BFA Technical Director (TD), Serame Letsoaka and his department are on an ambitious expedition to develop the BFA structures to ensure that development programme encompasses all stakeholders involved.
“We will be rigorous in development from grassroots level up to the elite youth league. We will be training instructors, training coaches (teachers), from schools in all regions, referees and administrators” said Letsoaka, Asked how the BFA will implement the developmental structures. He said the association has lined up courses that will be done this year. The courses will be conducted by CAF and FIFA officials.
He said their programme will be tailored in such a way that teams will not have excuses that the BFA has not trained qualified personnel to work at any level from grassroots right up to elite leagues.
“There won’t be any more excuses by people hiding behind lack of trained personnel to run structures. We want things to be done properly so that football optimally developed so that we can be at par with other nations” Serame Letsoaka.
He gave example that at premier league level they want coaches who have “A” License to coach at the elite league and assisted by assistant coaches with similar qualifications. Letsoaka observed that in the current scenario the premier league is unable to fully implement the club licensing requirements because they give excuses of that there are not trained personnel. “Once we have a pull of locally trained people across all the structures and portfolios teams would not have justification of why they cannot comply with the demands of club licensing. Those that will fail to comply they will be expelled from the league” he said. He further observed that the most of the premier league teams are not complying hence they are selective on compliancy. The elite leagues are supposed to have competitive junior leagues that are active throughout the season.
He said the BFA is working on the modalities on how they are going to retain officials trained so that their efforts do not go to waste.
“By 2020/2021 BFA will not compromise because we expect all areas of need to have been covered. BFA will no longer have teams but clubs with full functioning structures from grassroots right up to the top” said ambitious Letsoaka.
