GABORONE, Feb 7– Following the draw of the 2025 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco on Monday night, Botswana national team coach Morena Ramoreboli said he is looking forward to the challenge of taking his charges past the group stages. Botswana was drawn in Group D alongside Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Benin. Generally, the underdogs of the group based on its FIFA rankings, ‘the Zebras’ face a mammoth task to make it past the group stages at its only second appearance at the continental competition. Speaking from Morocco where he attended the draw alongside delegates from the Botswana Football Association (BFA), Ramoreboli said despite the underdog tag, they will not fear any opponent but will fight to get positive results. “By qualifying among the top 24 nations in the continent, we are amongst the best,” he said. The South African-born coach was roped in as interim coach in October 2024 following the unexpected resignation of Frenchman Didier Gomes da Rosa and guided Botswana through the last two qualifier matches against Mauritania and Egypt, where he sealed qualification to the tournament after a 12-year hiatus. Last week he was appointed permanent head coach on a two-year contract with his first challenging task being advancing through the group stages of the CAF AFCON 2025. Speaking to the media after his appointment, he said they need to work hard as a team and believe in themselves as players have shown they are willing to fight for success.
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