Botswana seek to build on progress at COSAFA Schools Qualifier
Botswana will be hoping to build on the progress made in the Boys’ and Girls’ competitions when they compete at the CAF African Schools Football Championship | COSAFA Qualifier in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, from 4–6 December 2026.
The fifth edition of the regional Under-15 competition will bring together nine nations, with Botswana seeking a maiden title after three previous appearances in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
The country has enjoyed contrasting fortunes in the two categories, with the Girls’ team reaching the final in 2023, while the Boys’ side registered their first victory in the competition at the previous edition in Stellenbosch.
There were encouraging signs for both teams in 2025, and Botswana will hope to build on those performances as they return to South Africa with another generation of young talent.
Botswana’s best performance remains their run to the Girls’ final in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 2023, when they finished runners-up to eventual champions South Africa.
They began the tournament with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Eswatini and followed that with a 1-0 success against hosts Zimbabwe.
Goalless draws with Malawi and a 1-1 stalemate against Mozambique were enough to secure a place in the decider, where they were beaten 3-1 by South Africa.
Amogelang Sebotho scored Botswana’s consolation goal in the final, having been one of their standout performers during the competition.
South Africa subsequently went on to claim the continental Girls’ title in Zanzibar, Tanzania, in 2024, underlining the quality of opposition Botswana had faced.
The 2023 performance represented a significant improvement on their debut in Malawi the previous year, when Mothamo Junior Secondary School represented the country.
They finished fifth in the five-team Girls’ competition, collecting a single point from four matches and failing to score.
The change in format in 2023, which allowed countries to select players from different schools following national qualifying competitions, provided Botswana with an opportunity to assemble a stronger representative team.
Botswana’s Girls returned to the regional competition in Stellenbosch in December 2025 after missing the previous edition.
They suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Lesotho in their opening Group C fixture before going down 2-0 to Malawi.
Those results ended their hopes of advancing to the semi-finals, but they finished the tournament on a positive note with a convincing 5-0 victory over Comoros in the third-place group crossover play-off.
It was Botswana’s biggest victory in the history of the Girls’ competition, surpassing their 5-1 success against Eswatini in 2023.
The result provided encouragement for a side that will be seeking greater consistency in Saldanha Bay, having already demonstrated their ability to compete with some of the region’s leading schools football nations.
The Boys’ team will also have reason for optimism following their 2025 campaign, when Botswana registered a first victory in the history of the regional competition.
They defeated Lesotho 1-0 in their opening Group C fixture to end a seven-match winless run dating back to their debut in 2022.
Although they subsequently lost 1-0 to Malawi, they finished second in their group and advanced to a crossover play-off, where they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Zimbabwe.
It represented an improvement on their previous appearances.
Thamaga Junior Secondary School represented Botswana at the inaugural tournament in Malawi in 2022, drawing 0-0 with IQRA School from Comoros but losing to Angola’s Rosinha School and Ile Perseverance from Seychelles.
In 2023, Botswana again collected a single point from four matches, drawing 0-0 with Eswatini before defeats to Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique.
The 2025 victory over Lesotho therefore marked an important milestone, and the challenge in 2026 will be to build on that result and compete for a place in the knockout
BOTSWANA’S PAST FINISHES
| Year | Boys | Girls |
| 2022 | Group stage, sixth place | Fifth place |
| 2023 | Group stage | Runners-up |
| 2024 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2025 | Second-place crossover play-off | Group stage; won third-place crossover |
BOTSWANA’S OVERALL RECORD
BOYS
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 17 |
GIRLS
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 15 |
BOTSWANA’S RECORD BY YEAR
BOYS
| Year | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 17 |
GIRLS
| Year | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 2023 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 15 |
BOTSWANA’S RECORD AGAINST OPPONENTS
BOYS
| Opponent | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| Angola | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Comoros | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eswatini | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lesotho | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Malawi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Mozambique | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Seychelles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Zimbabwe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| TOTAL | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 17 |
GIRLS
| Opponent | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| Comoros | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Eswatini | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Lesotho | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Malawi | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Mozambique | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Seychelles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| South Africa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 15 |
BOTSWANA’S PAST RESULTS
All scores are listed with Botswana’s team first.
BOYS – 2022
Thamaga JSS 0-3 Rosinha School (Angola)
Thamaga JSS 0-0 IQRA School (Comoros)
Thamaga JSS 0-2 Ile Perseverance (Seychelles)
BOYS – 2023
Botswana 0-0 Eswatini
Botswana 1-4 Zimbabwe
Botswana 1-2 Malawi
Botswana 1-4 Mozambique
BOYS – 2025
Botswana 1-0 Lesotho
Botswana 0-1 Malawi
Botswana 0-1 Zimbabwe (Second-place crossover play-off)
GIRLS – 2022
Mothamo JSS 0-0 GS Ningha (Comoros)
Mothamo JSS 0-1 Malindi Secondary (Malawi)
Mothamo JSS 0-1 Anse Boileau (Seychelles)
Mothamo JSS 0-4 Edendale Technical (South Africa)
GIRLS – 2023
Botswana 5-1 Eswatini
Botswana 1-0 Zimbabwe
Botswana 0-0 Malawi
Botswana 1-1 Mozambique
Botswana 1-3 South Africa (Final)
GIRLS – 2025
Botswana 1-2 Lesotho
Botswana 0-2 Malawi
Botswana 5-0 Comoros (Third-place group crossover play-off)
