In an eye-opening press conference on Tuesday, new Botswana Football Association (BFA) President, Tariq Babitseng revealed his administration arrived in office to find a P5 million deficit.
Although he refused to go into detail, the BFA boss claimed much of the debt was down to the lucrative salary paid to former Zebras Coach, Didier Da Rosa.
“Part of this deficit can be directly attributed to the financial commitments made under the previous coach, Da Rosa,” Babitseng told reporters gathered at Lekidi Football Centre.
“Look, when we took office, we were confronted with a financial situation that no one expected. A significant portion of the debt was due to the large sums that had been allocated for Da Rosa’s contract,” continued Babitseng, who would not be drawn into revealing exactly how much the Frenchman was paid.
It’s also unclear exactly what kind of contract Da Rosa signed when he took charge of the national team last November.
Sources claim the tactician, who has since joined Libyan side Al Ahly Tripoli, was only hired on an initial four-game basis and that for most of his short-lived reign he worked without a contract. Despite leading BW to the cusp of AFCON qualification, a visibly emotional Da Rosa quit last month, immediately after a 1-0 win over Cape Verde.
“We didn’t have the luxury of working with a clean slate. There were outstanding payments, bonuses, and commitments that had to be honored, all of which left us in a very difficult position,” added the man who ascended to power on 14 September, ousting previous President, Maclean Letshwiti at the BFA’s AGM in Palapye.
While his words painted a very different picture, Babitseng insisted he held no grudges against the previous regime.
“We’re not here to blame anyone. What’s done is done. But we are now tightening our belts and making sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes.”
He further explained that while the decision to appoint Jwaneng Galaxy’s, Morena Ramoreboli, as interim Head Coach worked for footballing reasons, it also ticked BFA’s financial boxes.
“We didn’t want to rush into hiring a full-time coach, especially with the massive financial burden that we inherited. The previous arrangement with Da Rosa was costly, and we need to take our time before committing to another long-term contract,” reiterated Babitseng, noting Ramoreboli had proven himself domestically and was well-suited to help the Zebras in this crucial period.
The South African will take charge of the Zebras last two AFCON qualifiers, at home to Mauritania next Friday followed by an away day in Egypt on 19 November. A win in either game would be enough to see Botswana qualify for next year’s AFCON in Morocco for just the second time in the country’s history – something you can’t put a price on!
