Mares players pocket P53,000 each
Kabelo Boranabi | Saturday October 15, 2022 06:00
The team made its maiden appearance at the WAFCON finals in Morocco in July where they reached the quarterfinals. The Mares came close to securing a World Cup qualifying berth but lost 1-0 to Cameroon in a match to determine the side that would proceed to a continental play-off. On Thursday, the BFA and its corporate partners held an award ceremony in Gaborone to honour the team for the performances.
The BFA president, Maclean Letshwiti announced that the association has managed to raise monies for the squad through its corporate partners. Letshwiti said the financial contributions were made by companies such as Lucara Botswana, Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB), First National Bank Botswana (FNBB), Lactalis Botswana, Orange Botswana, and O3 Beverages. The total money raised was P1.8 million meaning each member will get P53,700. Letshwiti said that it has been proven that financial incentives have a huge impact on each sporting team's performance and pleaded with the private sector to lend a helping hand in the development of football in the country. “I was not worried when we had conversations about the money for the Mares ahead of the WAFCON because I thought it will distract the players. But it is an undeniable fact that it is the money that gives the players motivation. So the critical part of the development of football is a partnership with the private sector. Without the contribution of the private sector, it is going to be difficult. In North Africa, they are successful because teams are supported by businesses and the teams are owned by businesses. This also goes to the government, running national teams is expensive. All successful national teams have government behind them, they have government backing. The government put a lot of money into the Mares (ahead of the WAFCON finals) and that is why we were successful. So we need the business sector and government to put hands together for the game,” Letshwiti said.
The team's head coach, Gaolethoo ‘Ronaldo’ Nkutlwisang lauded the stakeholders for their input in the team’s WAFCON journey. “I want to thank the leadership for pulling all strings to make our journey to WAFCON successful. It was not an easy journey from start to finish. First, our preparations were affected by COVID-19, games were rescheduled and that disturbed our whole plan. But once sporting activities resumed, we carried the same determination. We went to Angola and shocked them and proceeded to Zimbabwe. We beat them away and they gave us a tough time here at home but we managed to go through. At the WAFCON (finals) it was a different ball game, we were facing teams that are used to playing at the platform. For me personally, there were times I would look at myself and say, I am facing coaches with better papers (coaching qualifications), who are employed on a permanent basis and have good salaries. But that did not deter us, we fought and we were unfortunate to miss out on the World Cup,” Nkutlwisang said.
At the ceremony, local clubs including Township Rollers, Gaborone United (GU), Prisons XI, Eleven Angels, BDF XI, UB Kicks, Mexican Girls, and Francistown United were given P10,000 for their efforts in the inaugural DTCB Top 8 championship and their contribution to the women's game in the last season.