Botswana’s Jwaneng Galaxy have backed head coach Morena Ramoreboli with two big signings ahead of the 2023/24 season, writes Bongani Malunga.
Galaxy kickstart their 2023/24 season with a CAF Champions League preliminary round encounter on Sunday. They take on Ugandan club Vipers FC at the Lobatse Sports Complex.
The Jwaneng-based club won the Mangaung Challenge Cup last week. The momentum-building pre-season tournament has boosted the team’s match sharpness ahead of their Champions League game.
MORENA RAMOREBOLI’S TWO BIG SIGNINGS
In the transfer market, the defending Botswana Football League champions have signed national team goalkeeper Goitseone Phoko and last season’s joint top scorer Omaatla Kebatho.
The mining outfit beat rival clubs to the players’ signatures during the off-season. Both players were free agents. Galaxy also extended Namibian forward Wendell Rudath’s contract for 18 more months. The Brave Warriors star was recently linked with a move to SuperSport United.
Phoko recently left Galaxy’s main title rivals, Gaborone United (GU), after his contract expired. His former club offered him a new deal, which Galaxy rivalled on the recommendation of Ramoreboli. The talented goalie found Galaxy’s offer more suitable and decided to end a 15-year association with his boyhood club for Ramoreboli’s project. Phoko helped GU win four major trophies in the last four years, and he led the league in clean sheets in the previous two seasons.
Galaxy’s system had a fluid attacking line, with Rudath (15 goals) and fellow winger-cum-false nine Thabang Sesinyi (23 goals) scoring most of the team’s goals. Despite the club’s ability to operate with a rotating forward line, they still yearned for an out-and-out striker, and they have found one in Kebatho.
The former Orapa United striker was the BFL’s joint-leading striker with 23 league goals in the 2022/23 season. Kebatho is an experienced striker who brings a trophy-winning mentality and national team experience to a well-drilled Galaxy side. His arrival will add an attacking edge to complement last season’s prolific duo of Rudath and Sesinyi as Galaxy aim to win a second successive league title.
RELATED STORY: Jwaneng Galaxy star eyes DStv Premiership move
