Botswana coach details reasons for departure

Departing Botswana coach Didier Gomes da Rosa has taken up an offer from Libyan club Al Ahli just days after quitting his job in charge of the Zebras after claiming a breakdown in his relationship with the country’s new football leadership.

The French coach resigned from his post with Botswana despite a double win over the highly fancied Cape Verde Islands in this month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers that put the country in a strong position to qualify for the finals in Morocco next year.

Gomes da Rosa, 55, said he had quit after a disagreement with the newly elected Botswana Football Association president Tariq Babitseng.

“I was under contract with Botswana, with an automatic extension in the event of qualification for the 2025 Cup of Nations,” he said in an interview with French media on Friday.

“I was very happy, in a magnificent country, I had an excellent relationship with my players, with whom we did good work, I think. We beat Cape Verde twice, we also beat Guinea (1-0) in the qualifiers for the World Cup, drew with Mozambique (1-1) in a friendly at the beginning of January, and I think we could still improve. However, things happened that were difficult for me to accept, following decisions taken by the new president of the federation.

'NO RELATIONSHIP AT ALL'

“Since his election in September, I have never met him one-on-one. There was virtually no working relationship, no relationship at all in fact. And some things were decided without me being consulted,” he said.

“For example, he decided to restart the championship four days before the first match in Cape Verde, preventing me from organising the training camp that I had planned with the local players, who make up the vast majority of the selection.

"Then I learned that he had decided not to engage the local selection for the qualifiers for the African Nations Championship, even though it is an important competition for countries like Botswana. I don't know why, I was told about financial reasons ... I don't even know if he knew that I was the director of the national teams,” Gomes da Rosa claimed.

"I ask for nothing but respect and clarity. Absolutely. I don't have an oversized ego, but there are limits. I ask for nothing but respect, consideration, clarity and frankness. However, that was not the case.

"I think I have invested a lot since my appointment, at the level of all the national teams. There have been results. But when I am not respected, when decisions are made without consulting me even though I am still concerned, I say stop.

"I wanted to stay in Botswana, I was very happy there, but in these conditions, it no longer seemed possible to me.”