Rakgare wants Ntshingane, Butale at BFA
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday October 5, 2024 11:02
Rakgare said whilst he was happy to see Tariq Babitseng win last month's election, he was, however, disappointed to see the other two miss out after suffering heavy defeats. He said Babitseng is a good leader who does not take things personally. “I was happy when Babitseng won the elections. I am sad that Phadza Butale lost the vice president-one position because football would have had an opportunity to tap into his talent, as he is someone who has been in football as a player and administrator. He runs Happy Hearts Football Club,” he said.
Butale lost to Maokaneng Bontshetse. Rakgare said Butale understands government processes and there is no way football can progress if it does not have a relationship with the ministry. He pointed out that it is not a secret that the relationship between the BFA and government was dented during the previous leadership. Rakgare said Babitseng comes in to give a breather. He said it was going to be good to see Ntshingane being part of the current team but unfortunately, he was contesting against Babitseng. Ntshingane received only one vote. “Ntshingane understands football, he captained Zebras at one point. He knows that things are done as a collective of the executive committee. He has always been clear on his grassroots development advocacy. Even today, the loss has not affected him, he still serves football and together with Diphetogo ‘Dipsy’ Selolwane they arranged the legends match,” he said.
Rakgare said his wish is for the BFA leadership to find a way for Butale and Nchingane to be included because they are key people in local football. Meanwhile, the minister said former BFA president, Maclean Letshwiti, remains his father despite public spats leading to the association's elections last month. Rakgare said they have come a long way, only that there were instances where they did not agree on administrative issues. “I have never interfered in football matters. I have never said to Maclean, hire this person to be Zebras coach but I have always advocated for Batswana. I have said this before, getting a foreign coach to coach Zebras will slow down progress and we will be putting our money to waste,” Rakgare said. He said the Zebras coach is effectively in charge of players from the Premier League. “If we are not able to assist the Premier League clubs, that is why I was against looking for Zebras sponsorship because you need ready-made players from clubs. Clubs themselves need sponsorship,” he said.
Rakgare pointed out that the current Zebras coach, Didier Gomes Da Rosa, now understands local players and football culture. “I am not imposing this on the BFA, I was just sharing my view, they could take it or not. I have always said the Zebras should be dressed by local brands. What are we benefiting from foreign brands like Nike or Umbro? These are some of the things we spoke about with Letshwiti. That is why he ended up hiring Teenage Mpote and All Kasi dressing the national team,” he said. Rakgare explained that they had a good relationship but some things divided them like respect for the constitution and respect for football. “There are standards in football that should be followed. If the football fraternity wants to take action against someone, we should respect that. My problem was that football wanted to have its own laws that were above the country’s laws. We cannot run a country like that. I remain good friends with Letshwiti,” Rakgare said.