Zebras date Angola in SA

THATO KALA
Correspondent | Tuesday January 8, 2013 00:00

 

The Angolan team is already in South Africa, hosts to this year's Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, and has invited the Zebras for a preparatory match.Palancas Negras, as the Angolans are affectionately known, will use the match to finalise their preparations before the AFCON kicks off six days later. The Angolans are drawn in Group A alongside hosts South Africa, debutants Cape Verde and Morocco.

The match is likewise important for Botswana who are preparing for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers after a disastrous 2013 AFCON campaign. Zebras' next assignment is against Ethiopia in March and Botswana Football Association's acting chief executive officer, Tariq Babitseng, confirmed the match was aimed at readying the team for that tie.'We will now play Angola on the 13th of January in Johannesburg, South Africa. We are trying to build the Zebras properly in preparation for the World Cup 2014 qualifiers,' Babitseng told Mmegi Sport.The Zebras opened their 2014 campaign with a draw against neighbours South Africa in Gaborone and will be eager to do better in Addis Ababa.

The team is set to go into camp today with doubts being cast over the resumption of the be MOBILE Premier League this weekend. However, it remains unclear whether South Africa-based players Mogakolodi Ngele of Platinum Stars, Bloemfontein Celtic's Joel Mogorosi, Bidvest Wits' Ofentse Nato and Mogogi Gabonamong of SuperSport United will join their national teammates in Jo'burg.'We are facilitating that the team (local based players) go into camp today (Monday) or latest tomorrow,' he added.The Zebras match is Angola's fifth ahead of the AFCON. Before jetting into South Africa, Angola played three friendly matches against the Gambia, Rwanda, Cameroon's under-23 team and defending African champions Zambia.

Meanwhile, BFA president Tebogo Sebego insists national team coach Stanley Tshosane remains in charge of the Zebras. Sebego told a local radio station on Sunday that the association had no intentions of replacing the coach.Tshosane has been linked with the exit door since failing to qualify for the AFCON 2013, but BFA has repeatedly denied they are on the verge of parting ways with him.