Ramoreboli sets lofty COSAFA Cup target for Botswana’s Zebras

Botswana senior national football coach Morena Ramoreboli has challenged the Zebras to win the 2025 COSAFA Cup in South Africa and not just participate to earn recognition.

Reacting to the group stage draw held on Wednesday, the South African described Group D opponents Zambia and Comoros as strong; hence the need to prepare thoroughly. Only the winners from each group qualify for the semifinals.

“Zambia has been doing well. They won the cup in 2023 but never had a good tournament in 2024. [However], Comoros did very well in 2024. It is for the first time that we saw them doing very well,” he told the Botswana Football Association (BFA) media.

The former Jwaneng Galaxy FC’s mentor has since challenged the Zebras to go to the tournament in South Africa with a winning mentality and not just to participate.

“It is a task that needs players who are ready. In private meetings I had with some of the players, I made it clear to them that we are not going to play in this tournament just to be recognized, but to compete and reach the greatest heights,” Ramoreboli explained.

“For us to reach the greatest heights, we must perform and do well in the group stage, the semifinals, and get to the final.”

The coach recognizes that there are high expectations of him in Botswana, considering that he won the 2021 COSAFA Cup with Bafana Bafana.

Recognising this, Ramoreboli said: “We will do our best; we will fight. With the team we will be assembling, we will have soldiers who will go out there and represent the country well, do well, and ensure we get the important gold medal. We will fight with everything we have.”

Winning the COSAFA Cup is not optional for the South African trainer. It is among the targets the BFA set when appointing him in January 2025. Other targets include progressing past the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations group stages, collecting 12 points in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, and qualifying for the 2026 African Nations Championship (CHAN) finals.

During the draw, other pools saw Eswatini drawn alongside Madagascar and giants Morocco in Group C. Hosts South Africa share Group A with six-time champions Zimbabwe, Mauritius, and Mozambique.

Holders Angola lead Group B, which consists of Namibia, Malawi, and Lesotho.

The 14 teams were split into four groups, two comprising four teams each and the rest three. The winner of each group will proceed to the semifinals.