South African-born coach Morena Ramoreboli has been appointed as head coach of the Botswana national men's senior football team on an interim basis.
Botswana have just recorded back-to-back AFCON qualifier victories over Cape Verde, who reached the quarterfinals of the 2023 showpiece, where they were booted out by South Africa on penalties.
Having now parted company with Frenchman Didier Gomes Da Rosa, the powers that be have turned to Ramoreboli, while the search for a permanent coach continues.
They need only a win from their two remaining qualifiers to book a spot to the Africa Cup of Nations set to take place in Morocco, and might even throw his name into the hat for a permanent coach should he convince the local federation.
Ramoreboli is currently at the helm of Botswana Premier League side Jwaneng Galaxy, with whom he won the league last season to qualify them for the CAF Champions League yet again, where they come unstuck in the second preliminary round after defeat to Orlando Pirates.
He is quickly establishing himself as one of the Mzansi coaches to look out for, having started from humble beginnings at Maluti FET College, who famously hammered the Buccaneers 4-1 in the Nedbank Cup over a decade ago.
The Bloemfontein-born mentor has in recent times also taken charge of Bafana Bafana for COSAFA Cup duty.
FULL STATEMENT:
BFA HAS APPOINTED MR. RAMOREBOLI AS THE INTERIM ZEBRAS HEAD COACH The Botswana Football Association wishes to inform members of the public and the football community about the appointment of Mr. Morena Raboreboli as the Botswana Senior Men's National Team Interim Head Coach.
The decision to recruit Mr. Morena Ramoreboli was approved by the Botswana Football Association National Executive Committee following the sudden resignation of Mr. Didier Gomes Da Rosa from his position as the Zebras Head Coach. The Senior Men's National Team known as 'The Zebras' is left with two crucial AFCON qualifiers matches against Mauritania and Egypt, and needs just one victory against Mauritania to qualify for the AFCON 2025.
The appointment of the coach is meant to minimise anxiety and distraction around the Zebras camp and is a contingency plan for the immediate future. Mr. Ramoreboli will inherit the technical team left by his predecessor, Mr. Da Rosa.Mr. Ramoreboli's impressive list of coaching honours includes Botswana Premier League titles and Orange FA Cup success with Jwaneng Galaxy Football Club. In addition, he enjoyed a lot of success in the Champions League with Jwaneng Galaxy.
Mr. Ramoreboli has had much success in his native South Africa as the U20 National Head Coach winning the COSAFA Cup. Fundamentally, Mr. Ramoreboli satisfied our recruitment criteria as a coach with the ability and pedigree to give us the best possible chance of qualifying for the AFCON 2025 to be held in Morocco.Botswana Football Association wishes to express its unwavering support to the Senior Men's National Team's course as they attempt to make their second appearance at the top table of African football, the AFCON.
Mr. Ramoreboli and his technical team have a single-minded focus on giving us the best possible chance of going to Morocco AFCON 2025.Lastly, the Botswana Football Association would like to thank coach Mr. Da Rosa for bringing us this far and we wish him well in his endeavours.
These are exciting times for Botswana football at senior level and we look forward to welcoming Mr. Ramoreboli to the Mighty Zebras.