Botswana groom future stars
A lot of effort has been made to improve women's football in Botswana.
NAMPA/ANA
The Botswana Football Association (BFA) will use the Cosafa Women's Under-20 Championships to build a team to compete in continental competitions in the future.
The regional Cosafa showpiece will be staged in Port Elizabeth from August 1 to 11 and Botswana have made their intentions clear by elevating some of their u-17 players to the u-20 squad.
It is the start of a new cycle for Botswana side, led by Tapaphiwa Gaebolae, who has worked extensively with the u-17 group in the past.
This will provide good continuity and ensure a smooth elevation for the side, as they seek to hone their talent for places in the senior team in the not too distant future.
"We are now building for the future, and in order to have a progressive plan, we ought to start the building process as early as this year," BFA spokesman Tumo Mpatane said.
Botswana have been drawn in Group B at the competition and open their campaign against East African guest nation Tanzania on 2 August at the Gelvandale Stadium.
They then meet Zambia two days later in what could be a crunch game, before closing out their pool matches against Eswatini on 6 August.
Botswana have been regular participants at women's u-20 level and were finalists at the 2018 AUSC Region 5 Games in Gaborone, where they lost 0-1 in the decider to South Africa.
It was still a fine campaign for the side and shows their potential, as they seek to lift the inaugural Cosafa championship.
They also won silver at the 2014 AUSC games, which featured only four sides, and was played in a round-robin format, but did not make appearance two years later in Luanda.
Botswana have entered each of the last six qualification tournaments for the African Under-20 Cup of Nations for Women, but have not managed to make significant progress.
They have endured first-round exits to Ghana (10-4 on aggregate), Namibia (on penalties, after a 3-3 draw), South Africa (7-2 in 2012 and 2014, and 9-1 in 2015), and a walkover loss to Kenya in 2018.
A lot of effort has been made to improve women's football in Botswana and this tournament gives them a chance to showcase their rise.
The Botswana Football Association (BFA) will use the Cosafa Women's Under-20 Championships to build a team to compete in continental competitions in the future.
The regional Cosafa showpiece will be staged in Port Elizabeth from August 1 to 11 and Botswana have made their intentions clear by elevating some of their u-17 players to the u-20 squad.
It is the start of a new cycle for Botswana side, led by Tapaphiwa Gaebolae, who has worked extensively with the u-17 group in the past.
This will provide good continuity and ensure a smooth elevation for the side, as they seek to hone their talent for places in the senior team in the not too distant future.
"We are now building for the future, and in order to have a progressive plan, we ought to start the building process as early as this year," BFA spokesman Tumo Mpatane said.
Botswana have been drawn in Group B at the competition and open their campaign against East African guest nation Tanzania on 2 August at the Gelvandale Stadium.
They then meet Zambia two days later in what could be a crunch game, before closing out their pool matches against Eswatini on 6 August.
Botswana have been regular participants at women's u-20 level and were finalists at the 2018 AUSC Region 5 Games in Gaborone, where they lost 0-1 in the decider to South Africa.
It was still a fine campaign for the side and shows their potential, as they seek to lift the inaugural Cosafa championship.
They also won silver at the 2014 AUSC games, which featured only four sides, and was played in a round-robin format, but did not make appearance two years later in Luanda.
Botswana have entered each of the last six qualification tournaments for the African Under-20 Cup of Nations for Women, but have not managed to make significant progress.
They have endured first-round exits to Ghana (10-4 on aggregate), Namibia (on penalties, after a 3-3 draw), South Africa (7-2 in 2012 and 2014, and 9-1 in 2015), and a walkover loss to Kenya in 2018.
A lot of effort has been made to improve women's football in Botswana and this tournament gives them a chance to showcase their rise.
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