Botswana’s only FIFA accredited agent, Comfort Ramatebele, is a concerned man.
While many are already celebrating his achievements for being the only Motswana agent, that seems not recognized by most teams.
He told Sunday Standard that he is already overwhelmed by players and coaches from West Africa and even Europe but Botswana teams are going slow.
“Imagine, I am the only FIFA-accredited agent in Botswana and for that matter they are not many around Africa. This is the time where by local teams should be taking advantage of that but it is not the case. Only a few teams, like Uniao Flamengo Santos and BDF, have personally come to me but others have not,” he said.
Ramatebele also stressed that what puzzles him the most is that not even senior football officials have come to him to plan the way forward to market the players from Botswana.
“Many players around the world have managers but not agents and they are forced to go through agents and that is why many of them have come to me. I have been approached by players and coaches from as far as Ghana and Holland and their profiles look great. Imagine some of Ghanaian players playing for that country’s national junior teams and this shows you how they seriously take football unlike in our own country,” he said.
Ramatebele also added that in the future once his stable manages many players who mostly will be from Europe, he would be seen as unpatriotic. His target is to at least help transfer five players in one transfer period. Ramatebele, who happens to be a Radio personality, said there are many good players in Botswana who can make it abroad but that can only be a pipe dream if proper channels are not followed by teams.
“Many players who play in professional leagues around the world are not no better than those who are not. It is just that they are not exposed by being marketed and that is where I get in. Botswana should use that rare opportunity and we can even go places we have never seen in our history,” he said.
With the senior national team Zebras having raised high the flag of Botswana, Ramatebele sees it as an ideal opportunity for him to be even further than many countries.
