Ramoreboli urges local players to be ambitious
Mqondisi Dube | Friday September 25, 2026 09:45
The call was made by former Zebras coach, Morena Ramoreboli, who has since left the national team’s top post this month to take up a role as assistant to Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane.
In an interview this week, he said Botswana had no shortage of talent, but players needed to challenge themselves, set higher targets and develop a stronger work ethic if they were to reach their full potential.
“It is all about being hungry, it is all about aiming higher, it is all about respecting the game,” Ramoreboli said.
“I have no doubt that they are very, very talented, but I want them to challenge themselves to aim higher, and they will achieve great things.”
He believes the current Under-20 and Under-23 teams have the potential to produce a new generation of quality Zebras players, but warned that talent alone would not be enough.
According to Ramoreboli, players also need to manage their lifestyles and plan their careers carefully if Botswana is to achieve its long-term national team objectives.
“For any country to make progress and have better growth, you don’t plan over a two-year cycle; you plan over a four-year cycle, and it gives you what you want.
“I had a two-year contract with the expectation that I had to produce players for the international market and that the team has to do well. But if you face reality, you realise that you cannot do that over a short space of time,” he added.
Ramoreboli said he would have achieved more had he been given additional time, but expressed gratitude for the opportunity to lead the Zebras after taking over from Frenchman Didier Da Rosa Gomez.
He also believes Botswana’s football administration has potential, but said this must be matched by greater commitment and hunger to meet the demands of the game.
“I don’t think the commitment, the hunger, is equivalent to the expectation and the demands of the game, which is something we need to get right. We have the potential and ability to go. As I said, even with the players, there is nothing wrong with the players, but at times they get too comfortable and end up forgetting that they need to work and improve their game.
“Being comfortable makes you forget that you have goals,” he said, adding that nothing beats commitment and passion.
Ramoreboli also urged local coaches to broaden their horizons and look beyond Botswana as the domestic market continues to offer limited opportunities.
“When the market gets smaller, then you need to do what we did in South Africa. If you look at Steve Barker, Manqoba Mnqithi and Eric Tinkler, who are coaching top clubs in Africa, they saw that the market was getting smaller in the country. I would say to the coaches, aim higher and let’s go and hold positions elsewhere in Africa,” he said.
Ramoreboli guided the Zebras to their second Africa Cup of Nations finals appearance in Morocco last December. He left the national team just days before the start of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers, with Botswana having faced Libya last night and scheduled to host Tunisia on Monday.