Botswana Football Blog

BOTSWANA GOING TO THE AFRICA NATIONS CUP IN MY LIFETIME!!!!!!26TH MARCH 2011

kealeboga — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 06:31:44 +0000

The Zebras have a date with destiny

Yes I am back!!!! Have not been well for a while but no sweat I am back as History beckons for the tiny landlocked country the size of Texas and France with less than 2 million people (no I didn’t come up with that, Wikipedia did)
The 26th of March 2011 is set to be the day all Batswana will never forget!!! The undefeated Zebras face Chad a demoralized team at the bottom of the log a good (or is that bad) 12 points behind Zebras…… Unusually for the Botswana football Association, they have sent scouts to Chad to check the lay of the land. This follows media pressure that nothing be left to chance and insistence that an advance team be sent to ensure our team doesn’t come up with cases of food poisoning as we saw in Malawi…so we will be camping in Ethiopia to avoid funny off field tactics that a lot of teams in Africa employ when facing the southern African opposition (I have a hard time believing that Malawi had a hand in the food poisoning thing but you never know) any way I digress.
The team will be without inform midfield maestro Dirang Moloi but that is hardly a problem given that Zebras coach Stan Tshosane uses him as a substitute most of the time. We should not miss him too much though I would rest better knowing he was with the team… pacey and inform winger cum striker Sekhana Koko is also absent because of work commitments so Chadian Gods are with them.

Despite the absence of these players Botswana should be in a position to continue with their winning streak. It will not be easy. Sure we beat Chad when they came to Gaborone but they matched us and at time outplayed us. We have improved since. The performance against Tunisia showed strength and steel I would never have associated with our national team there were signs of solid team work. Like this year’s Manchester United, Zebras has played badly yet somehow ground out results that mattered. Playing against Sweden recently Botswana matched the European side for power pace and skill though we were caught wanting technically…this by the way was a team short of our South African players……we should shrug Chad aside and make history with the 40 degree conditions in Chad influence the game I believe it will but there should be enough on the bench to see off Chad.
Malawi face Togo in a game they must win to stay in site if qualification. I really do hope and pray they qualify it will be good for Southern African football. They have a hard run in though….Togo and Tunisia as well as the group leaders so I do feel that they need a win over Togo cause they are going to lose in Botswana and drop points against Tunisia. So we will see how it ends up but which ever way ZEBRAS ARE GOING TO THE NATIONS CUP AND IT HAPPENED IN MY LIFETIME!!!!!!

WILL THE ZEBRAS GET SUSPENDED BY FIFA?

kealeboga — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 05:43:54 +0000

The issue of whether Zebras might get suspended from FIFA activities owing to what political interference has become an issue of national importance and indeed some of our opponents (read sscouser) will be hoping this comes to pass. How real is this fear? Let me explain exactly what is going on. The President of Botswana Seretse Khama Ian Khama introduced a series of competitions around the country. These competitions are based on constituencies (voting areas) and they involve all sports. There is an argument as to whether they should be called leagues or just tournaments but that really is immaterial. The real issue is they interfering with Botswana Football Association activities? Are they contravening FIFA rules especially Article 13.1(g) of the FIFA official rule book which states national federations are obliged “to manage their affairs independently and ensure that their own affairs are not influenced by any third parties”. Can a strong enough case be made for the suspension of Botswana?
The debate has been nothing short of a circus really, we have the Botswana Football Association-BFA first telling Batswana that the all powerful FIFA somehow discovered the constituency league and was demanding answers from BFA, then, put under pressure from government it was discovered that BFA actually wrote to FIFA seeking counsel as to how best to deal with the constituency league. FIFA replied asking for further clarification. BFA stalled never provided the clarification needed leading to FIFA threatening to escalate the case to the leagues committee. THEY NEVER THREATENED TO KICK OUT BOTSWANA!!!!! It was around this time that the issue became national. As things stand there is nothing for FIFA to go on as BFA has since withdrawn its complaint.

This is where and when a new complication arose. Opposition parties suddenly decided that government had pressured BFA to withdraw so ALL opposition parties jumped on the band wagon and reported the Botswana government and I suppose BFA to FIFA , Complaining of political interference. Their argument is that the constituency leagues are used to garner political favors for the ruling party and as they are better funded than the regular lower football leagues. Consequently, players are quitting mainstream football and are forming their own teams to compete for in the lucrative constituency league now dubbed “Khama’s football games” by the participants themselves. The argument is a valid one it is clear that the ruling party is gaining a lot of political capital because of the games and indeed the lower divisions of mainstream football are losing players. It is however hard to make a convincing point that the interference is intentional or institutionalized…rule 6.1 of the constituency tournament states quite clearly that a player registered with BFA cannot play in the tournaments.
One needs to note one very crucial thing teams in diamond reach Botswana are horribly under resourced no team in the premier league has its own training ground let alone playing ground!!! So all this money going to the constituency league could have assisted greatly in resourcing teams. This is part of the reason the football community is up in arms against the league.

A tenuous case can be made but I doubt FIFA can really suspend on the basis of such flimsy, wishy washy evidence. An advice on how to go forward would be the likely result. The president LOVES football he would not jeopardize the country’s chance to play at the nation’s cup.

An area of concern is that politicians from both the ruling party and the opposition have now joined the furor the issue is being used to score political points and the opposition parties have even gone to the extent of actually fighting over who was the first to report government to FIFA. Yes it has gotten that petty. Should FIFA suspend anyone, it will not be on the basis of the controversial league (which by the way I happen to be against) but because Zebras success was used to score political points. Should the Zebras be kicked out of CAF after they have qualified that would be a monumental disaster that can only benefit politicians as they would then engage in a new game of who’s to blame. Whoever is found guilty is likely to suffer the wrath of Batswana voters for a long time. But for Tunisia and Malawi if you think you will sneak in by the back door after the best team has been suspended disabuse yourselves of such thoughts the possibility of that happening is between nil and nothing and nil is out of town!!!! One of you will not be at the nations cup it is up to you to decide who because we are already packing our bags!!!!

ARE ZEBRAS A GOOD SIDE OR JUST LUCKY?

kealeboga — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 06:56:20 +0000

The FIFA rankings came out just hours before the Zebras -Tunisia game and Zebras moved 12 places up to number 13 in Africa and 67th in the world. This marks the highest ever placing for Botswana and I dare say we are likely to go higher by the time the next rankings come out.
The debate at home has been whether we are lucky to be here or we really are that good. I might have to bring up a cliché here that the harder you work the luckier you become. The reality is that Botswana has worked long and hard to be here. Some of us never thought we would see Zebras garner more than 4 points let alone 13 points and stand on the brink of qualifying for its first ever Africa nations cup. In fact when the draw came through we felt our best chance (said with some degree of caution) was as best losers. My route to qualification read something like, this beat Malawi at home and get an away draw, beat Chad home and away then lose to Tunisia away then fight like hell on the battle ground to force a draw at home. This would have given us 11 points and we would have qualified as the best losers. When Togo was added to our group I wrote off our chances as did a lot of other Batswana because we did not believe in the coach being a local guy and all!!!!
Fast track to November 17, we just did a double over Tunisia we wait to collect 3 points in Chad and we will effectively be through. Is Botswana Fluking its way to the nation’s cup? I would say an emphatic NO!!!! We are a really good side. Dipsy Selolwane. Mogogi Gabonamong, Mompati Thuma and Goalkeeper Modiri Marumo represent the success of our often criticized developmental structures. Dipsy and Mogogi have played for the national team at ALL levels and Mongala, D. Moloi, Ohilwe and Ramoshibidu are all from the enterprising under 23 side that saw off the Moroccans in emphatic fashion, beat Cameroon in South Africa and held the same team twice. It just failed to make it to the Olympics.
I am basically saying it is not luck that we are where we are. Is it possible that the Gods are looking our way and we get some lucky breaks? I would say maybe though I am struggling to remember such breaks. The composure and assurance with which we held the last quarter of an hour Tunisian avalanche bore testimony to a team that has come of age, a team with the perfect balance of age experience and youth. A perfect balance of work man ethic with silky skills a team for the modern age that can compete admirably against the best in the world (get me well never said beat just put up a good days work against any team in the world). If anybody thinks Botswana is all about smash and grab wins then they need to take a closer look at the 4 wingers who play for us Mongala, Mogorosi, P.Moloi and Koko. They are all pacey and skillful players who would give any defence a torrid time. Also look to the creative genius of Selolwane and Dirang Moloi. Yes we have made our own luck this is the golden generation of Botswana football we may not win anything to show our improvement but for people of my generation we will always be proud that we saw a good team being built over a decade and see it flourish….. Give credit where I’s due we deserve to be here because we worked to be here and by God we’ll enjoy it while it lasts and may it last for ever!!!!

We were never going to lose!!

kealeboga — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:39:12 +0000

We were never going to lose! Botswana just beat Tunisia 1-0 with a goal from Jerome Ramatlhakwane, (the same guy who sank them in Tunis last time around!!!) Coming just on the brink of half time It was a nervey last 15 minutes as Tunisia made a last ditch rally that put the Zebras under pressure. The experience of the returning Mogogi Gabonamong with the skipper Thuma saved the day as attack after attack was broken down. let me put this into proper context guys and girls. Parliament closed especially for this game Our President was present in national colours’ our Commonwealth 400 metre gold medalist Amantle Montsho was present to give a morale booster to the guys Miss World first Princess who is also Miss World Africa Emma Wareus was also there!!! In short every thing and everyone who represnted everything that has gone well for Botswana was there for morale support, a country believed and together we achieved. Tunisia never had a chance!! they gave us a good game but there are times when even the most technically gifted team cannot deal with a highly motivated nation we were there for a win and nothing else!!!
In the end though the truth must be told that the technical ability of the Tunisians was there to see. They dominated possession for a long time but the defensive system employed by Coach Stanley Tshosane that saw two holding midfielders in Nato and Mafoko protecting the back four. The two wingers Mongala on the left and Mogorosi on the right were not as offensive as they usually are as the strategy appears to have been containment and catch them on counter. The goal came courtesy of a short Mogorosi run and a quick pass to the veteran Selolwane who dummied before taking a shot on goal. The Goal keeper parried right into the path of Ramatlhakwane..!..Goal!
Tunisia was threatening from set pieces and it is credit to our defence that we did not give away too many. I might be willing to concede that they may have deserved a point but they were wasteful they could have gotten the lead but Mogogi made a goal line clearance. They gave it their best but my analysis proved spot on. It is not a fluke Botswana does have a good side that has more experience than the Tunisians and it showed. There was a composure about Zebras I had never seen a self assured displayed that showed a focused team with no intention of giving up their 12 match unbeaten run!!!!
We are now sitting on 13 points 6 points ahead of Tunisia now someone tell me how can we fail to qualify for our first ever Nations cup !!!?!! A mathematical possibility yes but seriously how does the strongest team in group K fail to get 2 points from a possible 9?

TUNISIA vs BOTSWANA! It’s crunch time!!!

kealeboga — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 10:30:00 +0000

And so Tunisia arrived this morning the 15th of November 2010. The Zebras midfield kingpin Dipsy Selolwane also arrived to complete an injury free full strength Botswana side… s I stated in earlier posts, the game is for Botswana to lose as everything looks well in our favor. A lot of local pundits have been saying that a hot afternoon in Botswana would work well for the national team. Indeed I also pointed out a similar thing earlier. This is not likely to be the case though as weather forecasts show that it is likely to be cloudy and we might even get a bit of rain.
The question is this necessarily a game changer, does it benefit Tunisia more that the hosts or vice versa? In the end this should not really matter as I believe Zebras still hold the advantage, Tunisia is chasing if they go back to Tunisia in second position we have won in short a draw is still fine for us for three main reasons. 1) it is a moral victory; we would still have pole position in the group 2) we would be done with the Strongest team in the group which is improving really fast 3) we would have put them under pressure to win their other games.
You see from now on everytime Malawi and Tunisia (the only teams with a realistic chance of actually going past Botswana) drop points it works in our favor provided we do not lose. Botswana is not likely to lose against the likes of Chad or Togo, not because we are necessarily a better side than them but because Togo is demoralized and Chad just seems to have reached the end of their limit.
So we are not likely to have a hot dry Gaborone afternoon but Tunisia as a force especially at the back is almost non existent..let us face it not since the days of the marauding Hateem Trabelsi at right back and an imposing Jaidi at the back have we seen Tunisia play solidly at the back. Botswana is strong at the back k featuring tall defenders who have been the backbone of a very difficult to break zebras team for a while. Add the abundance of skillful and pacey wingers in Mongala, Mogorosi and the P. Moloi and you see the Tunisians in for a rough afternoon. The experience of Dipsy just behind the strikers and a strong midfield pairing of Nato and Mafoko, or team mates Mafoko and the returning Gabonamong or even Nato-Gabonamong and you have an almost indomitable midfield.
The only strength to be feared in Tunisia remains their set piece prowess, this no team in Africa can defend against as they have shown from time to time, should we starve them of such opportunities, preferably by defending high, then Botswana just might be up for an early Christmas present draw or win!!!

ONLY BOTSWANA CAN STOP BOTSWANA FROM QUALIFYING!!!

kealeboga — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 16:11:36 +0000

Qualifying for its first ever nation’s cup appears to be a reachable goal for a national team that nobody (myself included) gave a chance when the draw was announced. At this point Botswana is in the controlling seat after plans were throw into disarray following the recalling of Togo. Botswana has been imperious in the first round to say the least only two points dropped and 2 goals conceded it is safe to say at this point that the lead is for Botswana’s to lose. Tunisia comes through to Botswana on the 17th of November to face not just 11 players on the field but a whole nation that has just bee n reinvigorated as a fan base. There is cautious belief yes but belief nonetheless. Now can it all go pear shape from now on.. I think it is highly unlikely. Tunisia is going to be playing a very competent very confident Botswana side during a hot dry day in a small stadium that does not allow for the sort of football the Tunisians like!! Add the hollering horde that is likely to attend and you have a really hard day at the office, make no mistake Tunisia is a good side and the 20 000 capacity stadium that they will play in pales in comparison to the 40 000 plus stadia. On the day though, this stadium will turn in to a cauldron of noise!! I believe Tunisia will be a little hard but I do not see them getting anything more than a point. Our game has not been impressive, it has been work man like and effective but this does not mean Zebras lack skillful players Pontsho Moloi, Phenyo Mongala, Dirang Moloi Sekhana Koko are just a few of the players who add different dimensions to the team.
Malawi also have to come to Gaborone, they are fast improving and will be a challenge but mind you we have beaten them before 3-1 in Malawi we are not exactly wary of them and in terms football they are closer to us in many respects. It is away that the biggest test will be. Chad is not likely to be as generous ever again as they were in Malawi against any team but it is hardly invincible……Togo is demoralized and disorganized, their last loss effectively ended their campaign, their destiny is no longer in their hands. As things stand Botswana needs 15 points to qualify that is a win and a draw, yet draws in all the remaining games could easily see Botswana qualify with 14 points, the reality is that any team between Malawi and Tunisia that drops points only works for Botswana. The two still have to go head to head in Blantyre, Malawi are going to get some thing out of Tunisia…a point or three…. Botswana is in control; at this point the only team that can stop us from qualifying is ourselves…..

THE ZEBRAS JUGGERNAUGHT RUMBLES ON…..

kealeboga — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 05:47:37 +0000

The Botswana national team, the Zebras faced isihlangu the Swazi national team yesterday the 27th of October in Lobatse in a friendly that saw two southern African minnows face of using players based in their respective local leagues. It was a very assured play by the Zebras that us win 2-o with goals from inspirational defence king pin and Zebras captain Mompati “Apache” Thuma and the evergreen ever skillful Pontsho Moloi.
Many including a lot of Batswana were against the friendly simply because they feel we needed a stronger side to prepare the zebras for what promises to be an epic game against Tunisia on the 17th of November. I do not care either way I am just pleased that the game was a morale booster for our local lads as they do not necessarily get a good workout week in week out. You see, for countries like Botswana confidence and Momentum are everything, the believe that Batswana have on the Zebras now knows no limits the self belief evident in the local players. These will be factors against Tunisia; we will need the boys to approach the Carthage eagles with no fear and controlled respect.
The Tunisians are a good side and they are only team which (at least on paper) has the ability to win all their remaining games. The hot dry summer early afternoon in Gaborone combined with vociferous zebras fans and a self assured team all point towards a historic Wednesday for Botswana. I do not belief a 100% that we will beat the Carthage eagles but I believe a 100% that they are in for a rough 90 minutes. The evening in Tunis is all in the past and Coach Stanley Tshosane has done a good job of keeping every player focused and grounded, this has rubbed off on to the fans. The believe however that we could pull off another upset is still there. (Is it still an upset if we beat them the second time?)
We are a suspicious people and all that talk of Tunisian asking for a postponement did not fool us one bit, we immediately read MIND GAMES HERE!! THEY WANT US TO THINK THEY ARE SCARED OF US ASO WE GET BIG HEADED AND LOSE FOCUS!!!! So it was shrugged off with typical Botswana indifference……..
WEDNESDAY 17TH NOVEMBER 2010…. A date with destiny? I think so, I certainly think so….