BONA’s National Team Selection Gamble Backfires

Sunday Standard

BONA’s National Team Selection Gamble Backfires

When the Botswana ladies’ senior netball national team left for Kenya to compete at the Netball World Cup Sydney 2027 Qualifier Africa a fortnight ago, a lot was expected.

Even if qualification for the netball cup, which was a priority, could not be achieved, at least some semblance of improvement would be acceptable. But neither was visible.

Like lambs to the slaughter, coach Martha Mosoahle-Samm’s charges descended at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani in Nairobi, Kenya. For almost the entire tournament, Dinaledi, as the team is affectionately known, failed to sparkle.

A chastening 39 – 57 loss to Zimbabwe in the first match of the group stages set the tone. Then came another harrowing 32 – 54 loss to Namibia. Some reprieve then followed as Dinaledi sparkled against an unranked Tanzania, winning 59 – 35. It was all as good as it got as Botswana ladies were flayed 32 – 72 by South Africa in the final group matches before succumbing 51 – 47 to Zambia in the 7th / 8th placement playoff.

The result meant Botswana ended the qualifiers on position eight (8) out of the ten (10) participating countries. Only the unranked Tanzania and Nigeria had performed worse than them. These numbers told the story of a carnage years in the making for Dinaledi.

Whether brave or impractically ambitious, Botswana took a team devoid of its tried and tested players to the qualifiers. Fatimah Dino, the team’s defensive mainstay, had been left behind. So were players like Sarona Hans, who is perhaps the country’s current best wing defender.

Worse still, the team went without any recognisable forward player. Hildah Binang, Cheludo David and Boikanyo Selegetso, the country’s best attackers, bar none, were nowhere to be seen. They had somehow not made the cut.

Interestingly, all these players are the team’s infield leaders. Even if not wearing the captain’s armband, the players are known for their fiery competitiveness as well as on the court leadership.

Not surprisingly, during the world netball cup qualifiers in Kenya, team Botswana lacked leadership in the field of play. For almost all the matches, the players were as silent as lambs as carnage occurred all over the court.

Dinaledi’s performances have now raised serious questions over the team selections. Reached out to comment on the snubbing of the hugely talented and experienced players, Botswana Netball Association (BONA) Public Relations Officer (PRO) Reginald Pitso referred all questions to the coach Mosoahle-Samm and the association vice president technical Onkabetse Kesekang.

The BONA PRO said as the executive, they do not interfere with the coach’s team selections. He adds that they do not know if there could be any reasons for the non-selection of some experienced players. Rather, he said it is the coaches’ prerogative ‘to select the players they believe can perform as expected.’

On whether the decision to leave experienced players could have contributed to Botswana’s poor performance, Pitso had this to say; “I wouldn’t say this was an inexperienced team per se, and no, this cannot be attributed to our failure to qualify. There are a couple of factors involved and the key one is that the teams we were pitted against were stronger teams and in the end, they were better than us.”

“While this is not the outcome we were looking for, BONA acknowledges the team’s effort and commitment. The qualifiers have provided valuable lessons and highlighted areas for improvement. We remain committed to supporting the team and strengthening our high-performance program going forward.”

“Once again, BONA didn’t opt for an inexperienced team. The intensity of our preparation couldn’t outclass that of our competitors. We fell short in international test matches to test our readiness for this key competition,” he said.

While the BONA PRO was reluctant to explain why experienced players were snubbed, insiders point to a deliberate plan to sideline ‘vocal players within the team.’ Among these, players like Hans, Selogetso and Dino are known for speaking their minds, something which seems to be rubbing the powers that be the wrong way.

This publication has it in good authority that Dino was sidelined after she complained against what she believed was preferential treatment given to some players. Her complaints are said to have rubbed the head coach the wrong way, to a point where they had a heated argument. As a result, she did not make the cut.

The same problem is also alleged to be with Selogetso. Very outspoken and passionate, the versatile player hates losing and is always ready to speak out if she feels things are not being done right. She has allegedly been accused of ‘misbehaving’ and ‘not supporting junior players,’ leading her to be the team’s black sheep.

As for Hans, she is always viewed by her peers as a leader. During her days as the Dinaletsana captain, she was known for her bravery to speak openly about issues affecting players. This always rubbed the powers that be the wrong way and she has not been some people’s favourite person.

“It goes beyond that. Her presence alone threatens the interests of some people. She is the best player for us, unfortunately, her position directly threatens the selection of one of BONA’s favourite players. Even when they ‘called her for camp,’ we knew it was a half-hearted attempt to avoid being quizzed why she was not called. As players, we were waiting for her to come to camp to see what would happen,” one player said.

When asked to comment on why certain players were dumped from the team, BONA PRO said the association does not ‘discuss individuals with media,’ while reiterating the ‘NEC doesn’t select national team players.’

The post BONA’s National Team Selection Gamble Backfires first appeared on Sunday Standard and is written by Botlhale Koothupile