Zebras need P22m for AFCON qualifiers

The money will also cover participation in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) and the COSAFA Cup. The BFA is waiting for funding from government, with the responsible sports ministry indicating it was considering the association’s request for the national teams’ budgets.

The women’s national team, Mares have qualified for the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) and have a budget of P7.2 million to fund preparations. This means the government has to give the BFA nearly P30 million for both the Zebras and Mares activities in the coming months. The AFCON qualifiers kick-off at the end of this month, while the Mares’ AWCON finals take place in Morocco in July. “The budget for 2023 AFCON qualifiers will obviously be steeper than AWCON primarily because the women’s tournament is staged at one place besides the other preparations involved,” BFA chief executive officer, Mfolo Mfolo said. “AFCON qualifiers involve a lot of travelling, back-to-back for that matter,” he added. The Zebras were drawn against countries from far-flung parts of the continent, with Libya, Equatorial Guinea, and Tunisia in Botswana’s group. “It is the government’s responsibility to take care of national teams. All over the world, it is the principle.