A Botswana club with ambitious plans to develop young talent and export players to South Africa's top flight has made a significant coaching appointment, bringing in a former PSL star.
The two-year deal represents a major statement of intent from the club, which finished in a disappointing 12th position last season but have clear objectives for improvement under new leadership.
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At the end of last week, Botswana FNB Premier League side Matebele FC announced the appointment of former Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana midfielder Reneilwe "Yeye" Letsholonyane as their new coach.
Soccer Laduma caught up with Matebele FC Managing Director Lame Makache, who said the main reason for hiring Letsholonyane is that they want him to improve their players and help export them to South Africa's top-tier in the PSL.
Speaking to Soccer Laduma in an exclusive interview, Makache said that since they are a team mainly made up of young players, they needed a coach who has recently been working with youth, hence Letsholonyane was the best choice for them.
"Mostly, I think two things. The first one is that, as a club, we are moving towards engaging younger players. Like really, really young players. Letsholonyane fits the bill. Since he retired, he has worked with young players both at AmaZulu FC and he has been with Amajita (South Africa Under-20). So that's number one. Number two, we are also a very young team like in terms of age, so we are still growing. The brand is still growing. Letsholonyane himself is also a brand. So, as for associating with him, we also want to raise our profile because in three years we also want to export to the South African market, so Letsholonyane gives us that visibility that there are players from Botswana. That's the reason why we engaged him," Makache told Soccer Laduma.
Makache added that apart from looking at exporting players to South Africa, there are other team objectives for this season after they ended the last campaign in an unfavourable position.
"For a coach for this season, we would like to finish in the top eight. That's what we want, but besides that, we need him to improve our players. We need him to improve our young players. That's our main target. Top eight is only secondary. It's a bonus. The most important thing is that at the end of the season we need to have improved these players. We have given him a two-year contract which is subject to renewal depending on the performance," Makache concluded.
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Letsholonyane's appointment at Matebele FC represents an intriguing cross-border move that could benefit both parties significantly. His experience with South African youth structures and PSL connections could prove invaluable in helping Botswana talent gain exposure to higher-level football, while the club's ambitious export strategy aligns perfectly with his development expertise.
The success of this partnership could serve as a blueprint for other regional clubs looking to leverage experienced coaches to bridge the gap between local and international markets.
Photo by Matebele FC
