Rakgare slams football leadership

 

In a scathing and unapologetic move this earlier week, Tumiso Rakgare, the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport, and Culture Development, unleashed a blistering rebuke against the Botswana Football Association (BFA) at the Dinaledi Football Academy in the village of Oodi. Rakgare minced no words as he accused the BFA of rampant disorder and blatant disrespect towards the proud people of Botswana.

This comes in the wake of the Botswana Football League shareholders' decision to oust BFL Chairman Nicholas Zakhem and appoint Godfrey Ratlhaga as his replacement. The BFA contested this move, claiming it was unlawful and declared that Ratlhaga would not be allowed to assume the position. In response, the shareholders have suspended all league games until Zakhem is removed from the BFL board, causing widespread uncertainty and concern for the future of football in Botswana.

Addressing the media during the tour launch, Rakgare expressed his apprehension about the ongoing discord within Botswana football, evident in the public exchanges between the Botswana Football Association, Botswana

Football League, and various clubs on social media. The minister warned that such behavior has the potential to tarnish the integrity of sports overall, emphasizing that it is not a positive outlook for the sport's future in Botswana.

While asserting that he does not aim to interfere in the BFA's internal matters, Rakgare conveyed his dissatisfaction with the prevailing situation. He highlighted the Botswana government's commitment to building the integrity of sports in the country and criticized the BFA's leadership for allowing a few individuals to undermine these efforts. Rakgare urged for improved leadership from the BFA and emphasized the need to halt their mismanagement.

“The BFA is playing with fire. I'm not concerned about any individual football leader, but rather about the sport itself. Football has given me so much in life, and I believe that it can continue to benefit many people in the future,” he stated. 'However, the current leadership of the BFA is not interested in managing football in a way that will have a positive impact on others. They are arrogant and self-serving; what BFA is doing is clearly 'mantlwane' and 'botlhoka tsebe' (circus and indiscipline), and their actions need to stop,” he added.

Rakgare expressed worry that the current state of Botswana football might deter potential investors, partners, and sponsors, as the private sector would be reluctant to associate with an organization that appears unserious. He emphasized that if the clubs no longer support the current leadership, their voices should be acknowledged, and a leader with integrity should step down when they are no longer wanted.