Veteran coach Owen Da Gama has opened up about his new job at Botswana Premier League newbies, Black Lions FC.
Da Gama recently joined the Botswana outfit after cutting ties with Betway Premiership side Magesi FC.
According to reports, he signed a three-year deal with Black Lions FC, a new club that acquired the elite league status from VTM Football Club. Black Lions FC is owned by a Zimbabwean businessman, Tendani Sebata.
And former Orlando Pirates mentor Da Gama is keen to make a lasting impression in his first job outside of South Africa. He, however, started the 2025/26 campaign on a 2-0 losing note at the hands of Sua Flamingoes FC.
WHAT OWEN DA GAMA SAID
In an interview with FARPost, Da Gama said his primary goal is to avoid relegation, but his eyes are on turning the club into a development hub.
“It’s been very good, but it’s just unfortunate that I came in a little bit late because the chairman was waiting for the club licence and all those things. Two months ago, there was not even one player. So they started bringing players together about six weeks ago.
“They started bringing players together, and then they came three weeks ago, they came to South Africa, and that’s when I joined them. We played a friendly against Pretoria Callies, a friendly against the University of Pretoria and a friendly against Orlando Pirates.
“So there’s been no pre-season training, nothing, you know. But it’s not a train smash because this team is all about development. That’s what the president of the team wants.
“He wants to develop players. He’s from Zimbabwe, by the way, the owner of the club. So he wants to develop players. We must develop players and then they must go into the market to bigger clubs in South Africa and North Africa and so on,” Da Gama added.
DA GAMA HOPING TO REPLICATE WHAT HE ACHIEVED WITH SILVER STARS AND HIGHLANDS PARK
Da Gama hopes to replicate his achievements during his time at Silver Stars FC and Highlands Park FC. He led the unfashionable Silver Stars FC to a second-place league finish in the 2006/07 season and won the 2006 Telkom Knockout.
With Highlands Park FC, Da Gama helped them gain promotion to the Premiership. Under his guidance, they reached the MTN8 final in the 2019/20 season.
“I think one of the things is, if you did follow my past, is that I think Silver Stars and Highlands Park are the teams that have produced the most players for Sundowns. I think it’s 13 players that went there,” he declared.
“Remember Peter Shalulile and Mothobi Mvala. But before that, at Silver Stars, we produced a lot of players like Surprise Moriri. They went either to Supersport United or to Sundowns.
“So, the chairman [Tendai Sebata] wants this to be a team that’s going to make a footprint in Botswana. To produce players for the bigger clubs, we’ve got to be competitive in the Premier League.
“We don’t want to be a relegation candidate. We want to be competitive, and I’m competitive by nature, and the most important thing is to be competitive in the Premier League and make a mark.”
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