The National Under 23 coach, Daniel Nare, has expressed concern over the looming battle between his outfit and the senior national team, the Zebras over players.
He has warned that unless the issue is resolved with immediate effect, both teams might end up being affected.
It is feared that the situation may explode into a crisis should the national Under 23s progress further into the Olympic qualifying Games.
Among players in the line-up of both the Under 23 and the senior national team are goalkeeper Kabelo Dambe and midfield anchorman, Ofentse Nato.
Nato is a regular at the Under 23s while Dambe deputises first choice keeper, Modiri Marumo.
Nare dreads a repeat of the 2007 soccer row when the senior national team and the Under 23s were at loggerheads over striker Jerome Ramatlhakwane and midfielder Dirang Moloi.
The then senior team coach Colywn Rowe insisted on both players while David Bright resisted.
The situation got more complicated when matches for both teams were scheduled a day or two apart.
Nare has expressed concern about this likely development, saying something needs to be done while there is time.
He told Sunday Standard Sport that one of the teams that has a player caught in between lodged a complaint with the Botswana Football Association (BFA).
“Ofentse Nato is a regular at club level, Under 23 and the senior national team and already his team, Gaborone United (GU), has lodged a complaint with the BFA. GU has a strong case because they say the player faces exhaustion yet his services are needed. This is something the BFA should sit down and sort out, with immediate effect,” he said.
Nevertheless, Nato showed his prowess last week when he scored the only goal of the match when Botswana’s national Under 23 beat Namibia in a 2012 Olympic qualifier.
Nato rose above the Namibian defence to head home a beautiful goal from Odirile Kgaodi’s corner.
On the other hand, if the performance of the day was anything to go by, Nare has a long way to go to emulate his predecessor, Bright.
The Under 23 team lacks the power punch up front and a lot needs to be done before the second leg.
The only striker Nare relied on was Lemogang Maswena of Notwane but the physical Namibian side did not give him a chance at all.
It is about time the duo of Aubrey Kebonnetse and Mogakolodi Ngele bounced back to the team. Both players were key strikers for the team from the under 17 to 20.
Kebonnetse was reported to have had a knock before the game while Ngele was in the middle of politics of football. He was in the centre of a battle between his team, Uniao Flamengo Santos and Township Rollers.
Rollers wanted the player to join their nest but Santos refused, citing professional misconduct by Rollers.
