Mares wither despite local league’s bloom
Kabelo Boranabi | Monday October 19, 2026 06:00
Whilst the domestic game has graduated from regional competitions to a multimillion-pula national league, the senior national team, the Mares, has in recent years failed to qualify for two major tournaments, whilst the regional title, the COSAFA Women's Championship, remains elusive. This raises uncomfortable questions about whether the expansion is producing the desired results on the international stage.
The Mares have missed out on the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, with their latest disappointment coming in a humiliating 7-0 aggregate defeat to Tanzania this week.
The Twiga Stars completed the demolition with a 6-0 victory in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, having won the opening leg 1-0 in Botswana.
It was the second successive Olympic qualifying campaign in which Tanzania had ended the Mares' ambitions. The setbacks paint a worrying picture for a team that only four years ago announced itself amongst Africa's emerging forces.
In 2022, the Mares made history by qualifying for their maiden WAFCON tournament, reaching the quarter-finals in Morocco. They subsequently secured a second consecutive appearance after eliminating Gabon and Kenya in the qualifiers for the delayed 2024 edition.
However, the momentum has since evaporated. The team exited the delayed tournament at the group stage in 2025, having already surrendered their place at the 2026 finals following a 2-0 aggregate defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ironically, the national team's declining fortunes have coincided with an unprecedented expansion of domestic women's football.
The transformation dates back to 2016, when the Botswana Football Association (BFA) dismantled the women's Super League, which was largely concentrated in the south, and introduced regional competitions aimed at spreading the game nationwide.
The decision delivered encouraging numbers, with participating teams increasing from 47 to 132 over two seasons leading up to 2023, whilst regional leagues grew from six to 11.
By 2024, women's football was being played in 14 regions, with approximately 3,300 registered players, demonstrating the growing footprint of a game previously restricted to fewer areas.
The regional structures provided a broader platform for talent development, with the Mares' historic 2022 breakthrough becoming a defining moment in the country's women's football journey.
Meanwhile, Double Action initially dominated the domestic landscape before Gaborone United's (GU) Red Roses emerged as the new powerhouse.
GU's rise has been spectacular, highlighted by their 25-0 demolition of Makgabz City in the 2024 DTCB Women's Championship semi-finals and an 8-1 victory over Tawana Top Girls in the final.
The Red Roses subsequently conquered southern Africa, winning the 2025 COSAFA Women's Champions League and earning a place in the continental club championship.
Furthermore, the BFA secured more than P5.8 million from FIFA and government towards establishing a national women's league.
Following delays, the competition finally kicked off in the 2025–2026 season, featuring 20 teams divided into northern and southern streams. However, the elevation has also exposed glaring disparities in competitive standards.
In February, GU recorded an extraordinary 42-0 victory over Gantsi Swallows, a result that highlighted the gulf between established powerhouses and emerging clubs.
Although such victories underline GU's superiority, they also raise questions about whether one-sided domestic encounters adequately prepare national-team players for tougher international opposition.
The new league has also struggled to secure commercial stability. Clubs received P100,000 participation grants during the inaugural campaign, but the competition operated without a title sponsor. Uncertainty has subsequently surrounded the commencement of its second season and prize-money arrangements.
At national-team level, the technical structure presents another concern. Mares head coach Gaolethoo 'Ronaldo' Nkutlwisang also handles coaching duties at Jwaneng Galaxy, raising questions about whether the national side has sufficient dedicated technical resources to sustain its international ambitions.
Nevertheless, the national league remains in its infancy and cannot be blamed for qualification setbacks that preceded its introduction. Equally, GU's regional triumph demonstrates that local football has produced players capable of competing beyond Botswana's borders.
For the BFA, however, the challenge has shifted from expanding participation to improving competitive quality and translating domestic investment into sustained international success. A decade after the restructuring, the women's game boasts more teams, a national league and continental club champions.
Yet the Mares, once celebrated as history-makers, are watching major tournaments slip beyond their reach. The question is no longer whether Botswana has grown women's football, but how that growth is producing a stronger national team.