Africa-Press – Botswana. Almost six days ago on Tuesday 05th December 2023, Alex Malete led the Botswana women senior national team, The Mares, to their second successive Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAfcon) finals.
It was no easy task. The Mares suffered to reach the finals. They laboured under the extreme and debilitating heat of the sun-baked Gaborone to realise theirs and Batswana’s dream.
Going to Morocco 2024 WAfcon finals took both individual and team effort. In the first leg away in Kenya, Sedilame Bosija, saved a penalty in the second half. The save ensured the girls went into the second leg at an advantage.
Called upon once again here at home on Tuesday, Bosija once again delivered. He saved yet another penalty to deny Kenya what could have been a game changing goal. Keitumetse Dithebe, who scored the Mares goal away in Kenya, once again scored the team’s only goal at the National Stadium. From then on, the collective had to work together to see off the game.
For Malete, he and the girls had repaid the trust placed on them. Ahead of the first leg in Kenya, the young gaffer had vowed they will repay that trust. He believed in the girls, and they believed in him. The second WAfcon finals are now a reality.
It was a moment of pride for the coach and his charges. He had taken the reins when the Mares fortunes were plummeting. People were doubtful they could make it. Malete was however confident they would deliver. “It’s an issue of do we believe we can win against Kenya. And I have no doubt we can win, I have no doubt,” he said ahead of the first leg tie.
To get there, Malete knew he did not have to undertake radical changes to the team’s playing style. He understood where the team was and any radical change would be disastrous. He had to tread carefully and be pragmatic. In his own words, he was ‘just going to adapt to the demands of this particular game to make sure we win against Kenya.’
Now that victory has been achieved and the target reached, even more difficult work lies ahead. If he is given the honours to lead the team at the WAfcon finals, he is under no delusion concerning what lies ahead. If appointed to lead, he knows, in his own words, that he has to ‘come up with a consistent way of playing.’
But that will not happen without concerted efforts from all the stakeholders led by the BFA along with the Government, Botswana National Sports Commission and corporate Botswana.
Addressing the media, a day after the Mares victory on Wednesday, BFA president Maclean Letshwiti said the association needs to raise P10 million towards the team’s preparations. The monies will be used to make sure the team is well prepared for the continental showpiece.
BFA CEO Mfolo Mfolo says the team will need extended time on camp to get it ready. The association is planning to have these camps in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran or Kuwait. Should this happen, it will give the team to develop what Malete refers to as ‘a consistent way of playing.’
To raise the P10 million required, BFA says it will come up with initiatives to raise money. This will include approaching different corporates to come on board and help the ladies’ course. In the interim, the BFA says it ‘understands for the women to be competitive they also have to have a competitive league.’ For this reason, Letshwiti says the BFA intends to have a women national league in 2024. He says the association already has funds to start the league.
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