Tshepo Molwane
21 April 2008
South Africa has named a weak squad for the hastily arranged two-international friendly games against the Zebras.
Bafana Bafana will face the Zebras in the first game on Thursday night. The second game is on Monday. All games will be played at the National Stadium in Gaborone.
Bafana Bafana head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and his assistant, Pitso Mosimane will not be travelling with the squad. Instead Under-20 coach Serame Letsoaka has been roped in to handle the team. Last week, the caretaker coach announced a squad dominated by talent from the First Division.
The only four players in the team from the Premier League are not regulars at their clubs. The same South African squad is expected to face Mauritius in the newly introduced African Nations Championships (CHAN) on May 3.
"It is a good grooming ground for players who are also on the fringes of Bafana Bafana to be noticed for consideration in Carlos Parreira's team that is preparing for the 2010 FIFA World Cup," Letsoaka was quoted saying.
The friendlies against Bafana are arranged to help the Zebras prepare for the tricky game against Zambia in the African Nations Championship scheduled for May 2 at the National Stadium. But it is understood that the Zebras' coach Colwyn Rowe did not approve the Thursday game since he is out of the country attending a course in Egypt. Rowe is expected back on the day of the first match on Thursday. It is said he preferred the Monday game.
Speaking before his departure to North Africa, Rowe did not want to be drawn into confirming nor denying that he did not approve the Thursday game.
Instead, he said that he will use the two games to address some of the problems in his side ahead of the all-important 2010 World Cup/African Nations Cup qualifiers which start at the end of next month.
Though he was not aware which players South Africa will bring, Rowe told Monitor Sport that they want to do well in the upcoming 2010 qualifiers hence it is important to play friendly games.
On the upcoming CHAN qualifiers, he said that it is good that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had organised the tournament though the timing is wrong. "That is why Egypt has pulled out of the qualifiers and Zambia used their Under-23 coach to guide the team against Swazialnd," he said.
Botswana Football Association (BFA) chief executive officer, Tosh Kgotlele said they accepted to play South Africa in two games because Zebras need build-up matches before the qualifiers.
"Though there are no big names in the squad, I believe that they will give us a good game though most of the players are from the First Division," he said. Kgotlele pleaded with Batswana not to underrate the visiting squad and attend both games in large numbers.
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