Botswana head coach Morena Ramoreboli has made an honest admission regarding the gaps exposed at AFCON 2025, calling for national patience as the Zebras look to bridge the divide between local talent and the continent’s elite.
Ramoreboli guided the Zebras of Botswana to the 2025 AFCON tournament, but it was a disaster as they suffered three group-stage defeats [Senegal 3-0; Benin 1-0; DRC 3-0] in Morocco. They left Morocco without scoring, in what was the Zebras’ second appearance at an AFCON tourney in history.
While the former Jwaneng Galaxy coach has emerged as a target for criticism following the shameful spell at the continental showpiece, Ramoreboli has remained candid in his assessment of their expedition, saying it’s unfair to compare his players with seasoned campaigners at the tournament.
‘LET’S BE PATIENT WITH OUR PRODUCT’: – RAMOREBOLI
“Let’s be honest, when you look at AFCON level, you accept that the opposition will have the ball more than us. But you do look at ways to hurt them. Most of the teams in the quarterfinals are there because of individual brilliance, which means you must also find ways to neutralise that.
“But the most important thing is to be patient with our players. Without saying a loss is acceptable, but sometimes it feels so bad to see people comparing our players to players who have been to several AFCONs. We need to learn from these tournaments so we can improve.
“Now that Botswana is back from AFCON, the most important thing is to be patient with our product. We have the potential. We must develop our players well and send them to leagues where they can grow. Not everyone will go to Europe, but football is growing in other parts around the world,” Ramoreboli said in a interview with Radio 2000.
Botswana’s team is dominated by locally based players and four players plying their trade outside the country. These are Thatayaone Ditlhokwe, who is based in Libya, Wydad AC‘s Tumisang Orebonye, and Kabelo Seakanyeng, who plays for MAS Fes. Gape Mohutshiwa is based in Algeria at MC Oran.
Ramoreboli added: “Even with our players who play in North Africa, like Orebonye at Wydad, Gape in Algeria, and TT in Libya, you can see there is a difference with the players who play in Botswana. That’s because the North Africans are also ahead in the development and professionalism of players.”
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