Gaborone — Botswana football export to South Africa, Thatayaone Ditlhokwe is already settled at his new team, Kaizer Chiefs ahead of the start of the season on August 4.
The Zebras captain joined Kaizer Chiefs at the end of last season from another South African side, Supersport United where he spent two seasons. Ditlhokwe, alias TT, was in Botswana for a friendly game played over the weekend against his old team, Township Rollers, and he appreciated the pre-season they had for having helped him settle and know the culture of his new team and teammates.
"The teamwork that exists within the Chiefs camp makes things easier for us to gel and understand each other," Ditlhokwe said at a press conference on July 28. "We have been in camp in Mpumalanga which helped us know the strength of our teammates and this was very helpful especially for new guys like me."
He said the support of the coach, senior players and other old players in the team had been helpful.
He added: "At Chiefs once you are within the circle, guidance comes to you at any time which makes life easier. So all I can say is that so far so good, and am looking forward to the start of the season."
His coach, Molefi Ntseki confirmed that Ditlhokwe had enjoyed himself since he arrived, something he said was reflected in the hard work he had been putting in and doing well in the induction of new players.
"All we are waiting for now is to hit the new season running with him and we are confident that he will play a good part in our quest for glory," Ntseki said.
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Meanwhile, Township Rollers are looking to leverage the Kaizer Chiefs success, especially in the marketing and brand establishment fields. Rollers general manager, Sidney Magagane indicated that the relationship between the two teams dated back to about seven years.
"It all started from us wanting to learn from them, especially what they have achieved in Africa because we also want to see Rollers being one of the best brands in a few years to come," Magagane said.
He said they believed that their relationship with Kaizer Chiefs would help the growth of their technical and management teams through interchanges.
"The last time they were here in 2019 we really learnt a lot from them, hence we saw it fit to go back to them this time to build more on the relationship," he said.
For her part, Kaizer Chiefs marketing and communications director, Jessica Motaung said the visit to Botswana gave them a chance to connect with their many local fans as Botswana was one of their biggest fan base outside South Africa.
Meanwhile, Kaizer Chiefs also paid a courtesy call to South African High Commissioner to Botswana, Ms Thaninga Shope-Soumah at her residence in Phakalane on July 28 to brief her on the objectives of their visit to the country.
BOPA
