AFCON: Botswana trainer shares fitness challenges

Botswana strength and conditioning coach Tshepo Ikalafeng has given a major update regarding players’ fitness ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals.

The Zebras are camping in Tunisia to acclimatize to the North Africa weather conditions ahead of the major tournament in Morocco from December 21 to January 18.

Botswana left Gaborone for North Africa with a squad made up of predominantly home-based players who will be joined by foreign-based stars.

In view of this, Ikalafeng said it is always challenging managing players’ fitness levels for them to be ready for tournament football dynamics.

What is Botswana’s fitness like?

He noted that the team spent two days in transit before reaching Tunisia hence some players are battling with fatigue.

“When you are playing tournament football, it is a bit different when you are playing in a league,” the fitness coach told the Botswana Football Association media.

“With the national team, it is with different players from clubs, with different fitness levels so the challenge is to manage the load so that you can prevent players from getting injured.”

Meanwhile, the Zebras have been boosted with the arrival in camp of foreign-based stars Gape Mohutsiwa and Thatayaone Ditlhokwe.

The Zebras were drawn in Group D at AFCON alongside Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Benin.