BOTESSA exports four girls to Sol Plaatje University
First National Bank Botswana (FNBB) Tertiary Student Sport Association (BOTESSA) ladies football are this years’s University Sports South Africa (USSA) Champions.
The Botswana team won all the seven games played in the 5-day tournament held in Mpumalanga -South Africa, conceding only one goal in the process.
Bame Mokime was named Goalkeeper of the tournament while Rethabile Letty Segobye scooped the Player of the Tournament award.
The dominant display by the local girls caught the eye of Sol Plaatje University coach, who has promised to bring four players to his team in Januay next year.
The quartet are the two attacking midfielders Segakolodi Dudukanyane and Kenanao Nyambe, who’ll be accompanied by defensive midfielder Gorata Morekolodi and free scoring striker Katlego Gasemotse.
As part of celebrating this milestone, FNBB will reward the team with a total of P50, 000 in prize money, while Player of the Tournament and Goalkeeper of the Tournament will each receive P5 000 from the Bank.
Speaking to Voice Sport, the team captain Nyambe said achievement and recognition from the South African university is a dream come to true for her.
The Lobatse Brigade and Zodic Collabo Girls midfielder said it is her wish to play for the national team, and hopes playing in South Africa would help increase her chances.
“We did not have enough time to prepare, we only trained together for two days and never thought we’d go far in this tournament. This was a perfect platform to perform exceptionally well to open doors for greener pastures. I’m told the deal comes with a scholarship, which will really be great for the four of us. I’ve always loved football and I formed a girls football team when I was doing standard six at Lady Mitchison Primary School,” she said.
An equally jubilant team coach Jonah Bulawa said he was also shocked by the impressive results bearing in mind the amount of time invested in preparations.
“Team selection was done in May, but we did not have time for training camps to avoid interfering with the school calendar,” he said.
“The funds were also not permitting and players were writing their final examinations. I am to have such a disciplined group of players, and extremely excited for the four girls heading to Sol Plaatje University,” said Bulawa.