When David Fani’s team campaigned for him against the then president, Phillip Makgalemele, ahead of the Botswana Football Association (BFA) congress in Gaborone in July 2008, he was hailed as a messiah who would take the beautiful game to the Promised Land.
His campaign team even allegedly used some dirty tricks to discredit the opposition camp.
Three years down the line, the same people who were singing praise songs about Fani have turned against him and are now calling for his head.
The Sunday Standard has it on good authority that the campaign to remove Fani from the BFA leadership has long started, especially in the northern part of the country.
Fani’s term comes to an end in July 2012 but he has not yet come out to say if he will seek re-election.
“When we brought him in, we had so much confidence in him knowing that he has been there before. He sold us some good ideas, which we believed but he has not lived up to those promises. Instead, his reign has been rocked by controversies. I think the football community has to look elsewhere for leadership,” said a member from Fani’s 2008 camp 2008. When the Sunday Standard caught up with Fani at his University of Botswana office on Friday morning, he seemed unmoved by reports that he has failed to deliver since he took control of the most powerful sporting code in the country.
“I have not decided on whether I’ll stand for another term because there are lots of things to consider. But I think my term has been a success so far because we’ve seen growth in our football over the last three years. Our leagues have improved so much, though, and I’m of the opinion that if we had sponsors for the First Divisions and regional leagues, we could be saying a different story,” he said.
The FA president further said that even the administration of the game at club level had improved and speaks volumes about his tenure.
The recent rise of the Zebras, which has seen them qualify for the African Nations Cup (AFCON) in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, is an achievement he will always remain proud of even if he leaves office next year.
“Our national teams have improved a lot. We no longer see our teams, both men and women, being knocked out at preliminary stages. As much as there is improvement, I believe that we can still do more,” Fani noted.
Even though he is happy with football’s “growth” in the country, some of his critics say the scandals which have rocked his reign have done him no good. The critics believe that the scandals have shown that he does not have good leadership skills.
Some of the issues many refer to include the lapse that saw failure of the junior national teams to be registered for the continental championships last year.
There were also match bribery scandals after the Zebras returned from Asia, something which saw former BFA chief executive officer, Tosh Kgotlele, being shown the door.
According to critics, Fani did not do enough to ensure the scandals do not recur.
The recent outburst by Tswapong region chairman, Fobby Radipotsane, which saw him being suspended from football matters, did not help the situation.
Radipotsane is one of the most influential leaders in Botswana and some commentators say that Fani should have handled the matter carefully.
The last straw came when national team coach Stanley Tshosane failed to attend a coaching course in Egypt because the issue was communicated to him at the eleventh hour.
“These are some of the things which show you that he does not have leadership skills. He is supposed to know what goes on at Lekidi on a daily basis but he hears some of the things from the media,” said a source.
But Fani feels it is unfair to lay the blame on him for all the things which have gone wrong at Lekidi Football Centre.
He pointed out that some of the issues are administrative and should have been dealt with by the Chief Executive Officer who is in charge of day to day running of football in Botswana.
“I fail to understand why people would say I’ve lost it and should step down. We have always come out to take responsibility in issues which affect our football. We came out strongly on the issue of bribery and made it clear that we do not condone it. Unfortunately, some of the people who travelled with the team did not want to give information and there was nothing we could do,” he said.
Fani pointed out that some of the issues, like failure by the junior sides to register for CAF competitions and Tshosane’s failure to travel to Egypt, are things which the association’s secretariat must have done without seeking his permission.
But what has made people lose faith in him?
“I would not speculate what made them say that because none of them has approached me,” he said.
With almost 11 months remaining before the next BFA congress, it will be interesting to see what unfolds and whether Fani would seek re-election.
