Zebras invited to Turkey
There will be several other national sides at the tournament so it will be hugely important for us to be part of the tournament.,” BFA’s 1st Vice President Masego Nchingane responded.
Although the Zebras might not play against the Turkish national side, a few competitive games have been lined up and the Zebras are likely to play at least three ( 3) friendly matches should they make the trip.
Several countries have been invited to Turkey as an international football festivity is being planned: Kosovo, DRC, Burkina Faso and Guinea are some of the nations who have already confirmed their participation at the tournament.
The trip has been planned to also give local players exposure to the European scouts as the BFA looks to increase foreign based quota of local players.
“We are not yet a powerhouse within football circles, so we need to find ways through which we can compete against other top sides in football to give our players exposure and opportunity to be seen by international football clubs,” Nchingane added.
Currently, Botswana has a few players plying their trade outside the borders of the country.
Thatayaone Ditlhokwe ( South Africa), Tumisang Orebonye, Kabelo Seakanyeng and Mothusi Cooper ( Morocco) are the national team players who are currently playing in top leagues outside the country.
Adel Amrouche, the former Zebras coach was tasked with helping local players to secure moves abroad as the association is of the view that, the success prospects of the Zebras can only be possible with more local players having international football experience.
At least six ( 6) Zebras players in the squad that qualified to the 2012 AFCON finals in Equatorial Guinea were playing their football outside the country, but the number of exports of players has drastically dropped in recent years and the Zebras are once again everyone’s favourite cup of coffee.
Botswana was set to play Eritrea who have since pulled out of qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The two sides were due to meet in a two- legged preliminary play- off this month, with the first leg scheduled to be hosted by Eritrea on 21 March and the return match eight days later.
The Confederation of African Football confirmed both legs had been cancelled after it received a letter from the Eritrean Football Federation announcing its withdrawal.
The Zebras interim Head Coach, was set to oversee the Zebras over the two legged tie against Eretria, it remains a mystery on who will lead the Zebras in the next qualifying stages.