Thabo Motang (born 20 November 1967) is a Motswana football coach and former player currently managing

Township Rollers Township Rollers Football Club is a football club based in Gaborone, Botswana. Rollers are also known as Popa, The Blues or Tse Tala, the official nicknames of the club. The club is also often referred to as Mapalastina, a nickname that develop ...

in the

Botswana Premier League The Botswana Premier League, currently known as the BTC Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level football league in Botswana. Organised by the Botswana Football Association, the league was formed in 1978 to replace the pre-inde ...

. Often regarded as one of the best Botswana goalkeepers of all time, he played for several teams including

, where he became one of their longest serving players, BMC and Mahalapye United Hotpurs. Motang began his career with

as a twenty year old in 1987. Staying twelve years with the Gaborone-based outfit, in which he became one of their longest serving players, Motang won two league titles and three FA Cups. He then moved to Lobatse-based BMC, helping them gain promotion to the top flight in his last season. He joined Mahalapye United Hotspurs in 2004 as a player-manager and finally retired from playing altogether in 2006.

Early life

Motang was born in the Borolong area of Goodhope but was raised up in

Selebi-Phikwe Selebi-Phikwe (also spelt ''Selibe Phikwe'') is a mining town located in the Central District of Botswana. It had a population of 42,488 in 2022. The town is an administrative district, separate from the surrounding Central District. Mining ...

. He began playing football at primary school, functioning primarily as a defensive midfielder. After a game in which Mmoloki Sechele scored from the centre line Motang angrily took over as goalkeeper and never relinquished the role.

Club career

Township Rollers

Motang debuted for Rollers in 1987 aged 20. Although Rollers at the time had experienced goalkeepers like Sam Sono, Kabelo Otukile and Mchuu Manyelela, Motang quickly asserted himself as the number one choice. He stayed twelve years at the club, outlasting younger keepers such as Lesego Moeng and becoming a firm fan favourite.

Botswana Meat Commission

In 1999 Motang moved to BMC, then plying their trade in the second division of Botswana football. Although he played a starring role in helping the team earn promotion to the top league twice, he eventually subsided and became a backup for Reuben Mosweu.

Mahalapye United Hotspurs

After announcing his professional retirement in 2004 Motang resurfaced at Mahalpye-based Hotspurs as a player-manager. Primarily the coach, he was also the third-choice goalkeeper and goalkeeper coach. He officially retired from active playing in 2006 and took over full-time as the goalkeeper coach.

International career

Motang first came to prominence in 1984 while still playing secondary school football. He was selected for various youth tournaments which he played with Botswana U20. He made his senior debut in a 2-1 win against

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

in 1988. During his playing career

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

never qualified for any major tournaments. He was criticised by fans in 1992 after seemingly blaming his teammate Mooketsi Mading for a 6-0 defeat against Ivory Coast.

Managerial career

Motang began coaching while playing for Mahalapye United Hotspurs from 2004 to 2006. In 2006 he took over full-time as the goalkeeper coach. Two years later he moved to his former club

and was soon applauded as the best goalkeeper coach in Botswana after contributing significantly to the development of Kabelo Dambe. In 2014, after helping Rollers win two league titles and a cup, Motang landed in hot water after taking the club to court over unpaid wages, leading to him being given an unpaid suspension. Eventually the two parted ways, with Motang being appointed Extension Gunners assistant manager, though he acted as the manager following the departure of Odirile Matlhaku. Motang stayed with the Peleng giants for only one season before joining Gaborone United ahead of the 2015-16 season. However, in January of the same season he returned to

as goalkeeper coach and joint assistant manager. He remained in that post until he was announced as the new head coach on 4 July 2022 following the departure of French-born manager Romain Folz.

Honours

Club

; Township Rollers *

:2 ::

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

* Botswana FA Cup:3 ::

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, 1996 ; Botswana Meat Commission *

Botswana First Division South For association football in Botswana, the Botswana First Division South (currently known as the Debswana First Division South due to sponsorship reasons) is the second-tier professional football league in Botswana. Founded in 1966 after Botswana w ...

:1 :: 2001-02

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Motang, Thabo 1967 births Living people Botswana footballers Township Rollers F.C. players Association football goalkeepers Botswana international footballers