The Zebras touched down to a lukewarm reception following their heroics in a 1-1 draw against Egypt, which ensured qualification to next year's Africa Cup of Nations finals. The victory on Tuesday night sparked spontaneous celebrations across the country, with the expectation that a hero's welcome would greet the team upon arrival from Cairo. But the Zebras arrived just after lunchtime on Wednesday without much pomp and fanfare as the team drove in an open bus from the airport to the National Stadium. It was at the stadium that the players and technical team found gaping holes in empty seats at the 22, 000-seater facility. This was in sharp contrast to events to celebrate recent milestones, including the arrival of the Olympic Games team in August, which drew arguably the largest crowd. Question marks have been raised over the BFA's decision to hold the road show soon after the team's arrival and the wisdom to have a ceremony at the National Stadium midweek.
The BFA CEO, Mfolo Mfolo, declined to comment on the decision. However, he said there are plans to take the celebrations to Francistown, which has replaced Gaborone as the home of the Zebras. The second city's stadium, the Obed Itani Chilume is the only CAF-certified facility to host national team matches, whilst the National Stadium remains unavailable. The Zebras played all their qualifying matches in Francistown. "There was a promise yesterday (Wednesday) that a parade will be held for the City of Francistown to thank the people of the north. We are in the process of engaging with the stakeholders being the District Commissioner, Dikgosi, and council authorities. From the engagements, we will be certain with a date," Mfolo said yesterday. The Zebras players and coaches did not have much time to celebrate as they rejoined their respective teams ahead of their return to domestic action this weekend.
