Hukuntsi — Botswana Football Association (BFA) Chief Executive Officer, Mfolo Mfolo, has underscored the importance of the girl-child's participation in football, as he said it would provide them with employment opportunities found in the sector.
Giving a word of encouragement during the launch of women football in Hukuntsi in conjunction with the donation of football kits by Orange Botswana on Saturday, Mfolo said football is a product of hope from where there is no hope.
He indicated that, through football, the world has witnessed the emergence of great football players who started from nowhere, but are currently being the most decorated players across the world.
He therefore, encouraged Hukuntsi women teams to soldier on against all odds, to hone their skills that would eventually offer them the opportunity to play at competitive levels. He encouraged them to look at locally and internationally recognised players as that would provide an inspiration for them to work hard through their journey in football.
Meanwhile, he called for registration of more women football teams as he said currently they have registered 136 women teams with a total of 3064 players. Mfolo encouraged the Hukuntsi Regional Football Association to intensify their recruitment drive to at least register six women teams to increase the number of players in the national database.
Mfolo lauded Orange Botswana for their support and implored other stakeholders to follow suit to support sport development for the benefit of abating unemployment among the youth.
He implored all to rally behind the Mares team as they prepare to secure a spot in the upcoming women World Cup scheduled for 2025. He also urged all to embrace the mind set change concept as he said involvement in sport is excellent for cardiovascular health and it would drastically reduce the government health bill treating Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
He said despite Botswana grappling with the rise of NCD's, participation in sport would also help to promote behavioural change among young people.
In welcome remarks earlier, Hukuntsi District Council Chairperson, Moratwa Lekolori, said football is mainly taken as a form of entertainment among their communities but he implored all to change their mindset and consider it as a vehicle of job creation. He noted that, in their district, they experience large numbers of males participating in football as compared to their female counterparts.
He urged parents to encourage the girl-child to partake in football and other sporting activities, as it would help to unearth their hidden talents to improve their livelihoods.
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For his part, Hukuntsi Regional Football Association Chairperson, Olsen Mantle, said they are challenged with the registration of women football teams in their region due to financial constraints and lack of interest from women.
He said mostly the girl-child would play football during their school tenure but after that they quit and remain confined to performing household chores unlike their male counterparts.
He, however, said they are working hard to break the stereotype and lure women to participate in football. Mantle pleaded with the BFA to make a special dispensation of the required registration fee of P5000 especially for the newly emerging women football teams.
The Mares striker, Nondi Matlhasela, encouraged women teams to uphold discipline, as it would lead them to success and allow them to achieve their goals in the sport.
Giving a vote of thanks, the Member of Parliament for Kgalagadi North, Ms Talita Monnakgotla, lauded Orange Botswana for the kits donation and the Red Cross for donating two bags of First Aid kits. Ms Monnakgotla noted that Kgalagadi is among those economically challenged areas and there are limited sponsors for sporting activities and that alone impedes the youth's dreams of venturing into sport.
She therefore implored business entities and other stakeholders to join hands and promote sport in Kgalagadi, Shakawe and Ngamiland regions since unemployment among the youth is rampant in those areas.
BOPA
