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Botswana: Football is Dying in Jwaneng
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
27 March 2008
Posted to the web 28 March 2008
Chippa Legodimo
Gaborone
Football is dying a slow death in Jwaneng and a messiah with a rescue plan is needed to rectify matters. All the three most popular clubs in the diamond-mining town face a bleak future.
Cosmos Blizzards are struggling in the Second Division and might soon be joined by Blue Diamonds, which look set to drop from the First Division. Mascom Premier League side Jwaneng Comets are bracing themselves for another trip to the First Division. Comets have been propping the Premier League standings since the start of the season and only a miracle will save them from relegation.
Their 5-3 loss over the weekend to Gaborone United confirmed how deep the Jwaneng side has sunk. The defeat followed a 5-1 drubbing by leaders Mochudi Centre Chiefs four days earlier. Comets have failed to click despite the fact that it enjoys good facilities at the diamond-mining town like the Galaxy Stadium.
They have dropped from elite league more than twice. Last season they relegated but made a quick come back through the play-offs. Then they had one of the country's most creative marksmen, Botlhe 'Ringo' Rankgomo and almost single-handedly he ensured that the team did not drop to the First Division. Comets' veteran midfielder, Godfrey 'Simba' Makgarapa recently told Mmegi Sport that management blunders at the Jwaneng clubs are responsible for the poor performance over the years. "It has always been management taking things lightly even when everybody could see that things were not going well. Let me give you an example. Comets stayed a long time without a coach this season.
By the time a coach arrived, things were already in a mess. It was the same story at Blue Diamonds because (coach) Kaizer Kalambo only joined the club in the second round and people expect him to suddenly pull the team out of trouble," Makgarapa said. Though he earlier indicated that he was optimistic about his club's chances of avoiding the chop again, he must be thinking otherwise following the heavy defeat at the hands of GU. "Do not rule us out yet because football is full of surprises. With commitment and a little bit of luck, we could end up there. All the bottom six clubs are still not safe anyway and you never know what could happen in the next games," Makgarapa said.
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Former Comets skipper and Zebras midfielder, Busang 'Shana' Rasefako believes that there is potential in Jwaneng but those tasked with running football in the town are not serious. He said when he was still at Comets, players were not paid allowances and management failed to tell them anything until they started asking questions. "First of all football would not grow in Jwaneng if clubs there continue to settle for average players instead of competing for the best. When I was there, we had some players that were recruited from the 'bush' who were obviously not up to standard and that made us fail to click as a team," Rasefako said.
He added that most people chosen to manage football clubs in the town know very little about the game. "They would just pick someone because he is working in the mine and that person does not care about players' welfare but he expects them to win games," he said.
At this time, it is hard to believe that Blue Diamonds once campaigned in the top flight. They have never looked like coming back after they relegated. Another Jwaneng side, Debswana Young Stars used to give big sides problems but this is now history. Who will forget the days when renowned South African singer, Johnnie Mokhali released a song praising 'Dinaletsana' after their exploits in the domestic cup scared the daylights out of big names like Township Rollers? That was then and this is now.
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| Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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