What's next for Zebras?

Mqondisi Dube | Tuesday March 31, 2026 10:50

In Bloemfontein for the 2025 COSAFA Cup, the men’s national football team huffed and puffed to two stalemates against Comoros and Zambia, paving the way for an early flight back home.

Up next was the bigger assignment in the seaside resort of Tangier in Morocco, and the story line did not change, actually it took and concerning turn.

The Zebras shipped seven goals enroute to three defeats and again, they caught the early plane back home while the Africa Cup of Nations tournament progressed to the knock out stages.

During the current FIFA window, the Botswana Football Association (BFA), through a commendable initiative, organised the Mukuru Four Nations, and the hope was that there would be an upturn in fortunes.

However, in the first semi-final on Saturday, the Zebras failed to utilise home ground advantage as they recorded an emphatic 3-0 defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe.

The pattern of failing to clear the first hurdle even in friendly tournaments persists. The Zebras have not had a good run since qualifying for the AFCON finals in November 2024.

Victories have dried up with the best bet being either a defeat or draw. Post the 2025 AFCON finals, the BFA was expected to carry out a comprehensive review; not necessarily a witch-hunt, but a process to see where it all went wrong.

It cannot be right and business as usual for the Zebras to lose all three games without even registering a single goal. The review might have been carried out, but it is like winking in the dark. Only those at Lekidi Centre know if a review of the AFCON tournament was carried out and to what effect. On the outside, it's still the same; the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.

Between the technical team and the officers (BFA), one must own up, but thus far, it has been none of the above. It does not seem it will change any time soon with a lackadaisical attitude permeating through the walls of Lekidi. There is no hurry at all.

The nation at least deserves to know what the Morocco postmortem says. Where are the fingers pointing so that corrective measures are taken?

Unless if both the BFA and the technical team know that the Zebras are on the right path, then there is no need to press the panic buttons.

However, there is a need to address and reassure a restive nation, that has painfully watched as the Zebras remain stuck at the wrong end of the FIFA rankings.