The Patriot of Botswana Football Association, Lieutenant General Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama pledged his support to the football association this morning at the 2018 BFA’s Annual General Assembly held at Tlotlo Conference in Gaborone.

In his keynote address, the former President of Botswana told the assembly of his “deep” commitment to BFA and its leadership of Youth Development.

“That reality we face today is that the achievement of national teams is very much linked to the proper structures that promote Youth Development. We need to emphasise a linear integration from grassroots right up to elite to significantly build strong national leagues and ultimately national teams that will compete regionally, continentally and internationally,” the patron highlighted.

The patron said BFA’s forward-looking and ambitious Youth Development Programme to change the landscape of football in Botswana is supremely crafted. But he warned that this requires self-determination and sacrifices for this noble course to be achieved.

“I have learned with pleasure that Botswana Youth Development Programme has earned many accolades with FIFA and it was beamed at the 2018 FIFA congress in Russia as the best practice for others to emulate. BFA cooperation agreements with Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (DOSB) through Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) for coach education and talent identification will complement well with the world-class football academy that I am informed is in the pipeline,” added Dr. Khama