The association on Friday confirmed the appointment of Frenchman, Didier Gomes da Rosa as the new Zebras gaffer, replacing Mogomotsi ‘Teenage’ Mpote who was shown the door recently.
Letshwiti told journalists at a press briefing on Friday that the association had applied for funds from the government to finance the payment of da Rosa’s salary but they have been told there is no money. He also said the association will find other means to finance the high rated coach’s salary. “Let me tell you that the BFA will have to scrap through to get the money to pay the coach. A nation's success is measured by the performance of the national team,” Letshwiti said. He further said the national team needs government’s financial backing in order to perform well. “No football Federation in the world has the capacity to fund the national team. And so is Botswana. All successful countries in football have a backing of the government. Zebras is failing because it is not prepared well to go and compete. Until such time that we have funding for the national team, we will continue to struggle,” Letshwiti said. He however said despite being turned down, the association continues to have a good relationship with the government. “We have a very good relationship with the government. We have done everything possible to motivate and if they do not have the budget (to fund coach’s salary) then they don’t have,” he said.
Letshwiti stated that da Rosa is a very experienced coach who will do a lot more than just being a Zebras coach. “He will oversee a robust development process. He will oversee all national teams including Mares. He will be responsible for creating a feeder team for the national team. He will push BFA visions which will include qualifying for 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON),” he said. Da Rosa will also be expected to identify players and develop them further by giving them game time. Letshwiti said the association is worried about lack of retention strategy for talented players in the country. He said Botswana football loses a lot of talented players because it lacks the strategy to retain them. “We must have a retention strategy. We lose a lot of talented players because we don't retain them,” he said.
On other matter, he said it is important that the national teams do not just walk into a competition and expected miracles. He said going forward there must be proper planning in advance hence why they brought in a well-experienced coach. He said by appointing da Rosa, they have brought in someone who knows his way around the world football. He said they expect the new gaffer to use his connections around the world to refer some of the best talents to the international market. “You have to be respected internationally as a coach so that when you refer a player to an international market, they have faith in your recommendation. We are confident that he believes in football development, which will help us achieve our dreams and visions. BFA will put strong structures to support him,” Letshwiti said. He also revealed that a total of five local coaches will be attached to da Rosa as understudies so that in future they can use their expertise to take local football somewhere.
