BOTSWANA

Year of formation: 1970 Affiliation FIFA: 1976 Affiliation CAF: 1976 National Stadium: National Stadium, Gaborone (22 000) National Colours: Blue /White/Blue

Botswana have showed a marked improvement in international competition over the last years, using Cosafa tournaments as the basis of their preparation and progress.

It took almost a decade of competition before the Zebras made a breakthrough, but the side reached the semifinals of the Cosafa Castle Cup in 2006 and repeated the feat the next year.

Their achievement in 2006 came after they beaten South Africa on post-match penalties and the next year there was another upset triumph, this time over World Cup finalists Angola.

It was in 2003 that Botswana finally ended their search for the ‘Holy Grail’ when their seven-year run without a win in the Cosafa Castle Cup was broken. They had long been the only country of the original entrants to the tournament never to win a game.

An early goal from Tshepiso Molwantwa in their first round match away against Namibia in Windhoek finally broke the duck.

Botswana also came close to qualification to the MTN Africa Cup of Nations finals in 2008, when they needed an away win in Egypt in their last game to qualify, only to lose the match by a single goal.

Botswana was formerly the seat of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations but it has been handicapped over the years by the country’s sparse population. Botswana remains one of Africa’s richest and most political stable countries and is also where FIFA have placed its development office for the region.

RECORD