News

Medical Committee hosts best practice safely returning to play workshop

Jun 23, 2021

GABORONE, Botswana – The Botswana Football Association (BFA) Medical Committee over the weekend hosted a two-day Return to Play workshop where an expert panel discussed their day-to-day experiences of dealing with the challenges related to Covid-19, including their level of preparedness in the high-performance sport environment.

The seminar held on Friday and Saturday at Lekidi Football Centre in Gaborone was aimed at ensuring that a considerable level of set health precautions is always upheld and to support all teams in the BFA structures, making sure they are capacitated, speak one language of ‘hygiene, prevention and prompt recognition’.

The committee, which is chaired by Dr. Lone Bogwasi, include Mpho Bogopa, Dr. Monkgogi Thakgathi, Aldrin Majaye, Kitso Dlamini, Golekanye Morutwa, Kaelo Kgosieyang, Dr. Mwamba Nsebula, Tshepo Makete and Tiroyaone Otimile.

Furthermore, the committee sought to identify areas of need by the football association as well as develop policies regarding sports medical matters locally.

This entails aspects of sports medicine, nutrition, psychology, sports science including continuous education and research which are part of the evolving field of football medicine.

The policy development will be done over the next three (3) months and handed over to the BFA National Executive Committee (NEC) for endorsement, implementation and roll out to the various structures of the FA.

“The medical profession and the country will look onto us and football to ensure outmost safety of the players during their engagement in footballing activities. A multi-disciplinary approach is needed in our engagement to ensure a holistic approach to caring for the athlete to enable a conducive environment for them to excel,” said Dr. Lone Bogwasi when addressing the workshop. From Gaborone, the training will be rolled out to all BFA Regional structures across the COVID-19 zones. This is expected to be done over a period of 2-3 weeks.

“The training will cover all teams in those regions being BFL, First Divisions, RFAs leagues as well as the women’s league.”

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Development

The Mares Display Heart In Tri Nations Challenge

Botswana’s senior women’s national football team recently concluded their campaign in the prestigious Three Nations Challenge, hosted by South Africa from 28 May to 3 June at the Lucas Moripe Stadium. The series saw spirited competition between Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia, as teams continued their preparations for the upcoming Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifiers.

Despite narrowly missing out on the top prize, Botswana showed immense character and growth throughout the tournament. The Mares kicked off their campaign with a thrilling encounter against the African champions South Africa, narrowly going down 3-2 in a tightly contested match. The team bounced back with a determined performance against Zambia, securing a 1-1 draw and demonstrating resilience and tactical discipline.

Final Tournament Results:

South Africa 3–2 Botswana

Botswana 1–1 Zambia

South Africa 2–0 Zambia

South Africa’s Banyana Banyana were ultimately crowned champions of the series, winning both of their matches to take the top spot. The tournament offered valuable game time and experience for all participating nations, and Botswana’s technical team, led by Head Coach Alex Malete, will take key insights from these fixtures as they refine the squad for the crucial WAFCON fianals.