Zebras' year-long wait to end
Kabelo Boranabi | Friday August 21, 2020 14:09
CAF indicated this week that both the World Cup and AFCON qualifiers would continue before the end of the year.
The national team was last in action against Algeria last year November. The Botswana Football Association (BFA) has assured that the Zebras will be ready to play when action restarts in November.
Adel Amrouche’s charges face a tough return, as the league remains suspended until possibly next year February.
The Zebras will kick off with an away fixture to Zambia before a return leg between November 9-17. The team will then travel to Algeria before hosting Zimbabwe between March 22-30.
Speaking to Mmegi Sport, BFA communications officer, Tumo Mpatane was mindful that international flights remained grounded, but assured that the Zebras will not miss a tie in their bid to book a place at the AFCON.
“It is a wait-and-see situation, which we have to plan for. Just a few weeks back, we were planning for the AGM (annual general meeting), but we went into a lockdown and that changed everything,” Mpatane said. “So it is a situation where we have to wait and assess the situation with COVID-19 and see how best we can go around it to ensure that we play. We are directed by the health authorities, and everything we do is in line with their advice,” he added.
Most of the Zebras’ players are in the local league while those based abroad would need to undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine.
“It is still premature to talk about the technical team plans or training camps. There are guidelines of course we will have to abide by those. Like I said, this is a process we have to plan. The qualifiers kick off in November and until then we have to assess the situation.
“CAF has not yet said anything on how we are going to play the games, we just received the communiqué yesterday (Wednesday) but the critical thing is the players’ health and we will not compromise on that. Travelling in Africa is costly and we anticipate that during this period when we are dealing with COVID-19, so the cost might be higher than they were, it is only natural. These are the things we need to prepare for,” he said.
The Zebras currently sit third in Group H with just a point. The team salvaged a point away to Zimbabwe, but lost to African champions, Algeria on home soil.