Top seven (7) in Africa, seventy (70) in the world and COSAFA champions by 2036. That is Botswana Football Association (BFA)’s dream for the country’s senior football national team, the Zebras.
Leading to that, the BFA wants a competitive Zebras that will not wait more than a decade again to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals. The team has to qualify for Afcon and reach COSAFA finals by 2032.
Though admirable, the ambitious vision is bold and difficult, yet not impossible to achieve. As it is, the current senior national team, which did duty at the last Afcon is aging. The team has an average age of 30 years. Fourteen players, making the majority of team, are aged 30-years and above.
Of the remaining twelve, eight are aged between 27 and 29-years. The remaining four players are aged 25-years and under. These are Losika Rathukudu (20), Monty Enosa (22), Tebogo Kopelang (23) and Thabo Maponda (25).
While the BFA’s vision is to have a winning Zebras in ten years, the reality they have to live with is that the current team has short legs to run on. Even four years, let alone two years, is too long to keep the current team as it is. A fusion of new blood is needed quickly to keep it competitive and make the football mad nation happy.
As such, the BFA does not have the luxury of time to develop. Their success in office is closely tied to the Zebras’ performances. Waiting a decade, when the BFA strategic framework 2036 matures to have a competitive national team, is not an option for them.
With this in mind, the BFA has a two-pronged approach to achieve its vision. The long-term approach is to develop young talents aged between twelve (12) and seventeen (17) years for the national team. These players will be aged between 22-years and 27-years and be at their prime in 2036. This is expected to start soon.
The second approach, which is already underway, is to fast track the development of some young talent which can be infused into the Zebras setup. During the recent Mukuru Four Nations tournament, the Zebras fielded a youthful team as part of this plan. As expected, from the Afcon 2025 team, only Kopelang, Enosa and Ratshukudu made it into the that team.
While the team that played in the Mukuru four nations tournament dished out some impressive performances, they are not regular players at team level. They have spent more time on the substitutes’ bench than on the field of play. This has, and continues to hamper their growth and delay their progression to the national team.
This is exacerbated by the absence of development leagues, where they would normally be expected to gain game time and continue their growth. To address this particular problem, new play rules and regulations have been formulated to give the young players much needed game time.
In the coming season, teams in all BFA governed leagues, including the FNB Botswana Premiership, will be compelled to have youth players in their lineups. This is the BFA’s attempt to ensure young players get much needed game time to fast track their development.
According to the new BFA Play Rules and Regulations, it will be mandatory for all clubs to have youth players in their starting line-ups. Premier League teams will have a minimum of ‘three (3) U23 players and minimum two (2) U20 players in the starting eleven.’
For other leagues, First Division League teams will be expected to have ‘minimum two (5) U23 players and minimum three (3) U20 players in the starting eleven,’ Regional Division One teams will have ‘minimum five (5) U20 players and minimum two (2) U17 players in the starting eleven’ and lower Regional League teams will have ‘minimum six (6) U20 players and minimum two (2) U17 players in the starting eleven.’
According to the BFA, these regulations, which come into effect on the 01st of June 2026 are mandatory. ‘A club that fails to meet the minimum starting line-up requirements shall be deemed non-compliant, and the matter shall be treated as an ineligible team selection breach,’ the regulations state.
The regulations further say teams are obliged to give the youth players in the starting line-up minutes. ‘A club shall not circumvent this Article by listing youth players in the starting line-up without intent to play them meaningfully,’ the rules state.
According to the BFA, the purpose of mandatory youth playing minutes ‘is to prevent token compliance and ensure meaningful development exposure.’ ‘Each club shall ensure that at least two (2) of its starting U20 players complete a minimum of forty-five (45) minutes of playing time each in the match.’
‘For avoidance of doubt, the obligation in Article 25.2.2 is satisfied only where: a) the player remains on the field for at least forty-five (45) minutes of match time; or b) the player is substituted due to verified injury, verified concussion protocol, or verified goalkeeper substitution necessity, recorded by the referee and match commissioner.’
‘Substituting a mandatory U20 player within the first forty-five (45) minutes for tactical reasons, time wasting, or token compliance is prohibited and constitutes a breach,’ the new rules state.
They go on to state that ‘where a club starts the required U20 players, but removes them early without permitted grounds, the club shall be deemed to have failed both the development requirement and the participation requirement, and sporting consequences shall apply.’
Where a mandatory U20 player is substituted before forty-five (45) minutes due to injury, the club will be expected to ‘replace that player with another eligible U20 player where available’ and ‘maintain at least the minimum number of U20 players on the field for the remainder of the match, unless additional injuries make this impossible.’
Under the new regulations, ‘sporting consequences,’ for failing to adhere to the rules ‘shall include forfeiture of the match, unless these Regulations expressly provide an alternative outcome or the competent authority determines otherwise on exceptional grounds.’
‘Without prejudice to the BFA disciplinary procedures, the Competition Organiser shall apply sporting consequences in accordance with a published sporting consequences matrix approved by the BFA NEC.’
Commenting on the new regulations in a post-match interview during the recent Mukuru Four Nations tournament, Zebras head coach Morena Ramoreboli said it is a welcome development.
‘It will help us because if these players at their age can play regularly, then we are able to build a strong national team. Secondly, if we are to follow trends and may be policies from other countries, you will realise that in South Africa, they have an under 23 players playing full time in the first division.’
‘It has helped to develop players for the premier league. And there is also the DStv Diski Challenge league. It helps a lot in terms of producing the under 23s, under 21s for clubs that need those players. There’s ABC Motsepe league that also has a policy of making sure that there is age restriction.’
‘So, with us, we have neighbours who are doing something in terms of may be cheating development and it is working for them. We can easily pick it and put it in place and it will work for us. For me, I think it will benefit us a lot.’
‘I think having a policy that will also be emphasising more on development will help us because it means these young boys will get competition playing regularly and it will help us. If it can be done properly, then we are good to go,’ the Zebras gaffer said.