Botswana 'team to watch in Cosafa'
It is a pity that the latest Fifa rankings will be announced long after the Cosafa Cup draw shall have been conducted in Luanda at the end of September; otherwise the Zebras would have enjoyed an even higher ranking and possible bye in the annual southern region tournament.
According to Cosafa CEO Sue Destombes who has been appointed following the decision of long serving Ashford Mamelodi to step down from the organization as Secretary General, the draw for this year’s tournament will be conducted in Luanda during the last week of September.
“We are just awaiting confirmation from the Angolan government to sign certain documents which I am sure will be done this week,” said Destombes. “And then we will conduct the draw in Luanda for the 14 nations that will contest the annual tournament,” added Destombes.
However, although the draw will be conducted in the capital Luanda, the tournament will nonetheless be staged in the cities of Lubango and Benguela during October and November, venues that were used during the African Nations Cup tournament early this year, according to Destombes.
But the dark horses of this year’s tournament could be Botswana, the Zebras who have left a swathe of destruction in their 2012 Afcon qualifying campaign, where they top Group K after defeating African giants like Togo and Tunisia and are within a whisker of qualifying for the biennial continental competition for the first time in their history.
The Zebras are unbeaten in four matches, having won three and drawing the fourth to head the standings with 10 points, thanks largely to a transformation plan that has been implemented by coach Stanley Tshosane and a new generation of players guided by veterans Dipsey Selolwane and Mogogi Gabonamong.
Botswana currently occupy position 93 in the Fifa rankings, 21 in the CAF rankings and sixth in the Cosafa, but their position could improve drastically following their incredible victories over Togo and Tunisia followed by a credible draw against Malawi in Blantyre.