Botswana seek first final appearance in U17 Championship
The TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2026 | COSAFA Qualifiers will be staged in Harare, Zimbabwe from September 11-20 with 12 teams hoping to reach the continental finals that are to be held next year.
It will be fascinating to see which sides emerge to not only take the crown, but also advance with the chance of becoming African champions.
The second part of our team profiles looks at Botswana, who have one bronze medal to their name over the years.
BOTSWANA
Last five tournament finishes:
2019 – Did not enter
2020 – Disqualified
2021 – Group Stages
2022 – Fourth
2024 – Group Stages
Botswana managed a fourth-place finish in 2022, making it out of the pool stages for the first time in their history.
When the team picked up the bronze medal in 2002, the competition was played in a round-robin format with no knockout stage and they ended in third place.
That 2022 performance has showcased their quality and the potential of young players in the country.
They had a underwhelming record at the COSAFA Under-17 competition before that and, in the case of 2020, faced disqualification for selecting players who did not meet eligibility criteria.
But having exited their pool three years ago following a 2-2 draw with Malawi and a 1-0 win over Namibia, they lost 4-2 to Zambia in the semifinals and then 5-2 to Malawi in the battle for bronze.
The team went out in the group stages last year, but managed a decent haul of four points, losing out only to a rampant South Africa.
They beat Mauritius 2-0 and drew 1-1 with Comoros in another promising campaign.
And they will want to build on that this year and reach the continental finals for the fourth time.
They qualified in 1995 and 1997 but did not make it out the pool stages, and were back again in 2013, but likewise did not advance.
