TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Morocco 2025: Team Profile: Botswana
Botswana head to the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 carrying the underdogs title to their name.
Rightfully so, the Southern African nation travel to Morocco with a single TotalEnergies CAF AFCON appearance in 2012.
While they head to the finals with a lesser profile, Botswana will draw inspiration for the Cote d’Ivoire edition that proved that the gap in African football has significantly been reduced over the years, with the standard of African football growing in exceptional leaps and bounds.
How they qualified
Botswana laboured to a place in Morocco after showing resilience against their more fancied Group C opponents in the qualifiers.
The Zebras, with very little chance given to them by many finished second behind record champions Egypt after edging Mauritania and Cape Verde to qualification.
Key Player to watch - Tumisang Orebonye
Tumisang Orebonye will be key for The Zebras in Morocco where he will be playing in familiar territory.
The 28-year-old is on the books of AS FAR after moving joining from Algeria’s USM Alger where he became the first Botswana player to win the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup.
Orebonye is a key player for AS FAR who are in the knockout stages of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League where he will be hoping to contribute to his team’s continental success.
Know the coach – Morena Ramoreboli
South African born Morena Ramoreboli has made a name for himself since making his way to the South Africa’s neighbouring country.
Well known for causing upsets against more fancied teams during his time in South Africa, Ramoreboli continues to carry this reputation following his remarkable run with Jwaneng Galaxy in last season’s TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
It was in the same season that they knocked out South African giants, Orlando Pirates before sending shockwaves across the continent with a victory away from home over former champions Wydad Casablanca.
Previous TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Appearances
The Zebra’s have only qualified for the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON finals once in 2012 where they could not advance to the knockout stages in a tough Group D consisting of Ghana, Mali and Guinea.
Fan Zone:
Botswana’s highest rise in FIFA rankings was in 2012 when they qualified for the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON. They ranked 53rd after beating former champions Tunisia home and away.