Botswana Football Association backs South African coach Morena Ramoreboli to take Zebras to Afcon

The president of the Botswana Football Association, Tariq Babitseng, is confident that South African coach Morena Ramoreboli will guide the Zebras back to the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), where they have been absent for more than a decade. 

Botswana last qualified for Afcon in 2012, in what was their first-ever appearance in the biennial competition. They unsurprisingly finished at the bottom of their group, losing all three matches against Ghana, Mali and Guinea. 

But hearing their national anthem played at Afcon for the first time, and the two goals they scored through Dipsy Selolwane and Mogakolodi Ngele - who have played in South Africa - was a massive milestone for the Southern African nation. 

They are now on the verge of making a return to the big boys' table, needing just one win from their last two Group C matches in the 2025 Afcon qualifiers.

The Zebras will take on Mauritania in Francistown on Friday, and end their campaign against seven-time African champions Egypt in Cairo on Tuesday. 

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Ramoreboli, whose permanent job is coaching Botswana's champions Jwaneng Galaxy, will lead the Zebras in these crucial qualifiers. 

The 43-year-old was appointed national team coach on an interim basis in October after the shock resignation of Didier Gomes da Rosa, who cited a breakdown in relationship with Babitseng for his departure before taking up a job with Libyan side Al Ahli. 

The BFA swiftly moved to appoint Ramoreboli in the post, just after he had missed out on making it to the group stage of CAF Champions League - losing in the final preliminary stage to Orlando Pirates. 

"All of our players are currently playing in