Red Roses eye home glory
Kabelo Boranabi | Monday June 29, 2026 06:00
COSAFA officially confirmed this week that Botswana will host this year’s qualifiers, with the defending champions set to enjoy home advantage after contesting the previous three editions in South Africa and Malawi.
Speaking to MmegiSport, GU head of operations, Herbert Letsebe, welcomed the development, saying hosting the tournament will give the Red Roses a significant boost.
“This means a lot to us as a club because for the past three editions we have been playing away in South Africa and Malawi. Most of the time, the home team has that slight advantage as far as support is concerned,” he said.
“Now our supporters will be able to attend our games in large numbers, and that will be a morale boost to the girls. Playing at home in front of local supporters will be an added advantage to us as Gaborone United, and we are thankful to COSAFA for selecting Botswana as the host of the qualifiers.”
Red Roses head into the tournament as defending champions after winning last year’s COSAFA qualifiers to book a historic place at the CAF Women’s Champions League finals.
Letsebe added that although the club is not piling pressure on the players and technical team, the objective remains to retain the title and improve on their showing at the continental finals.
“We are the champions, and the expectation is for us to defend the cup. But we will not put pressure on our players and the technical team. Of course, we want to defend the cup because it is our wish to do so. We also feel we have unfinished business at CAF,” he said.
“By winning the COSAFA qualifiers, we booked a place at the Champions League finals, where we faced the continent’s top clubs. We feel we did not perform well, maybe because it was our first time there, but this time we want to go beyond what we achieved at the CAF finals. “That is our expectation from this tournament, to defend the cup and finish our business at the CAF finals.” He also thanked the club’s supporters for standing by both the men’s and women’s teams throughout last season and urged them to once again rally behind the teams. “To our supporters, I can only thank them for the support they gave the men’s and women’s teams last season. We can only promise them that nothing is going to change.
“We are going to keep the momentum from last season into the next campaign. We are the defending champions in both teams, and our intention is to defend our crowns going into the new season,” he said. Letsebe also revealed that the club is looking to reinforce both the men’s and women’s squads ahead of the new season, although no new signings can be announced at this stage.
“Like any other ambitious team, we have plans to bring in new players, and I can assure you that by the beginning of the season, you might see new faces at Gaborone United in both the ladies’ and men’s teams. “However, currently there is nothing we can report or reveal until the right time comes.”