Botswana hope for first ever final spot at regional U20 tournament
Botswana will be seeking a rare route out of the group stages in a COSAFA Men’s Under-20 tournament when they compete at the Region 5 Games in Windhoek, Namibia from July 4-13.
The Young Zebras have only qualified for the knockout rounds twice in the last 26 years, most often falling short in the pool stages.
This year they have been drawn with defending champions South Africa, record 12-time winners Zambia and Eswatini in Group B, a tough assignment against strong teams from the region. The top two sides in each pool advance to the semifinals.
Botswana have been regular participants in the regional Under-20 Championships despite missing the tournament in 2017.
Their best finishes in this competition came in 2009 and 2011 when they managed third place.
First they beat Madagascar 3-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the bronze-medal play-off in 2009. The Young Zebras had made it through their pool but lost 3-0 to South Africa in the semifinals.
In 2011, on home soil, they lost to Zambia in the semis before beating Malawi to bronze.
In 2016 the side lost all three of their pool games without scoring a goal, while in 2018 they claimed four points from three games with a victory over Lesotho, a draw with Angola and defeat to Zimbabwe.
It was the same in 2019, where a 5-0 loss to hosts and eventual champions Zambia was followed by a draw with Malawi (2-2) and a win over Comoros (2-1).
They came mighty close to a place in the knockout stages in 2020 as they lost to Angola 4-0 but beat Eswatini 1-0, a result which saw all three sides on three points in the three-team group. It was therefore decided on head-to-head and they missed out.
In Eswatini in 2022 they beat Mauritius 1-0, but lost to the hosts and eventual winners Zambia and did not advance, and in 2024 they were runners-up in their pool behind Zimbabwe.
The side have never qualified for the Africa Under-20 Championships, which will be a target in the coming years.
BOTSWANA FINISHES IN LAST 25 YEARS
1999 – Group stages
2000 – Group stages
2001 – Group stages
2002 – Group stages
2003 – Group stages
2004 – Group stages
2005 – Group stages
2006 – Group stages
2007 – Group stages
2008 – Group stages
2009 – Third
2010 – Group stages
2011 – Third
2013 – Group stages
2016 – Group stages
2017 – Did not enter
2018 – Group stages
2019 – Group stages
2020 – Group stages
2022 – Group stages
2024 – Group stages
