Gabane picked for 2027 AFCON
Mqondisi Dube | Saturday June 17, 2023 06:00
The information is contained in the bid book Botswana submitted to CAF last month. A 40,000 seater, tentatively named Motlhaba will be built in Gabane, while a facility with a similar carrying capacity, called Letswai is earmarked for Maun.
The other new stadium, Tlatlana will be built in Kasane, with a seating capacity of 15,000 while the National Stadium in Gaborone, the Lobatse Sports Complex, and Obed Itani Chilume in Francistown will undergo refurbishments.
The three existing facilities will have their seating capacities at 20,000 when the renovations are complete. Obed Itani Chilume has a seating capacity of 27,000, National Stadium is at 22,500 and Lobatse Sports Complex seats 22,000.
This means the capacities of the National Stadium and Obed Itani Chilume will be reduced. The consultant who compiled the bid book, Reuben Reddy indicated that the facilities will be downgraded at the end of the tournament, to ensure they are fit for local clubs' purposes.
The choice of Gabane, alongside Gaborone, and Lobatse means the tournament, if the bid succeeds, will be concentrated in the extreme eastern parts of the country and hardly 75 kilometres apart.
The stadium designs are impressive but will cost the government an arm and leg, with the budget projected at over P12 billion for stadia only. CAF has begun visits to the bidding countries, with Botswana facing competition from a joint effort from East African countries, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as well as Egypt and Algeria. Botswana is pinning hopes on bringing the AFCON to the southern part of Africa. Only two southern African countries, Angola and South Africa have hosted the 66-year-old tournament.
“We want to contribute to defining a new chapter for the tournament as we hope to bring it to the southern hemisphere in 2027,” reads Botswana’s message on the bid book. The CAF executive committee will decide on the 2027 AFCON finals in September. The Botswana Football Association president, Maclean Letshwiti is a member of the CAF executive.