12 Dec 2023

Botswana Under-15 teams, both boys and girls, are in Zimbabwe for the CAF African School Football Championship that will be held on December 14-16.

The tournament features 11 countries; Angola, Botswana, eSwatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia, and hosts Zimbabwe.

Botswana is in Group A with eSwatini, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, while Group B has Angola, Madagascar, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia. Botswana Football Association (BFA) technical director Tshepo Mphukuthi told BOPA that he was confident the teams will compete well.

He said the tournament was a CAF initiative, adding that Botswana found it important to be part of the initiative given that their biggest challenge had been that children in Botswana start to play international football at a late stage compared to other countries.

“The initiative presented an opportunity for us to be part of the global world and catch our players young,” he said.

He stated that the tournament would help prepare for the future because in 2025, the Under-17 team would be playing in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup qualifiers.

Mphukuthi pointed out that the championship would help them prepare players well on time.

He said it was intended that the players who are in the current team would ultimately all graduate to the Under-17 side. “Our wish is that CAF African School Football Championship be played annually, as that would help us to continue to identify and nurture talent,” he said. In the absence of school sport, Mphukuthi said BFA had come with alternative means to identify talent. ENDS