Kaizer Chiefs defender and the captain of the Botswana men’s senior national team, Thatoyaone Ditlhokwe, has expressed his sense of pride and accomplishment at Botswana’s historic qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to be held in Morocco.
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The Zebras, as they are affectionately known, secured their second participation at the biennial tournament after making their first appearance 12 years ago.
The achievement came after the southern African nation held continental giants Egypt to a 1-1 draw in Cairo for the all-important point.
Botswana finished second in the group behind the Pharaohs.
‘Surreal moment’
With the dust settled, Ditlhokwe reflected on a surreal moment and on the team’s journey to qualification.
“We must admit that it’s been difficult, especially for a nation like ours. It feels like a battle that we fought for a lifetime and finally we have hurdled over everything and made it through,” he said.
As he looked back on the team’s qualification campaign, Ditlhokwe is quick to highlight a collective effort and praise his team-mates.
“I have seen the enormous contribution of everyone who was involved in this campaign from when it started till the very last second in Egypt,” he said.
“Their contributions cannot go unmentioned; they are equally important as mine,” he added.
“We have fought so hard to redeem ourselves from the pit that we found ourselves in after the first two games and clearly nobody gave us a chance, but my boys believed.”
Thatoyaone Ditlhokwe couldn’t contain his sense of pride in the players and the technical team.
Botswana’s campaign didn’t get off to a great start and the team had to dig deep to secure qualification, with South African-born coach and Jwaneng Galaxy mentor, Morena Ramorebodi, appointed as national team’s interim coach with two matches remaining.
‘Dream come true’
“That’s why I love these boys so much. They may have not been your cup of tea, like those of the past, but they have written their names in flammable letters eternally in the history of our football. They rewrote the history of our football,” Ditlhokwe stated.
His leadership has been instrumental and, as everyone that was involved in the qualification looks forward to the tournament, he is aware of the significance of this moment.
“It’s a dream come true for every player to represent their country on the biggest stage in African football.
“We all dream of that but, qualifying for the AFCON and making it happen was a much more a bigger responsibility.”
Botswana are currently ranked 42nd in Africa and 140th in the world in the latest FIFA World Rankings.
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