Egypt keen to play against Zebras

THATO KALA
Correspondent | Tuesday May 14, 2013 00:00

Egypt, through an agent, has proposed February 19 in Cairo, while Sudan is also confirmed to be interested in playing Botswana. The fading African heavyweights, Egypt, are pulling out all stops to give the Pharaohs a good preparation ahead of their next fixture against Zimbabwe on March 22.They lead Group G after beating Mozambique and Guinea and would obviously want to cement their position at the apex of the group when they host the Warriors in Cairo next month.On the other hand, the Zebras are preparing for their crucial 2014 World Cup 2014 qualifier in Ethiopia on March 24.

A win in Addis Ababa will put Botswana's World Cup campaign back on track after losing to Central African Republic (CAR) away in the opening match and drawing with South Africa 1-1 at home. The Zebras lost 2-0 against CAR as they kicked off their 2014 away in Bangui.Botswana Football Association (BFA) technical director Sonnyboy Sethibe said they were working on getting the team a friendly. He, however, admitted that it was difficult with the league likely to start soon.

'The league is starting, the congestion is too much. It is congested, but of course we are making efforts to play a game because other countries are also engaged so it now depends on whether the country is available or not,' Sethibe said. He added that it would also depend on the agent they have engaged.'It is the match agents which control the countries.' Should the Egypt tie talks succeed, the team will likely play next Tuesday.

The only dilemma the association faces is that they will not be able to get South Africa-based players, as the game will be falling outside the FIFA calendar. The Zebras made a long trip to Harare to play Zimbabwe's Warriors last week and fell 2-1 despite putting up a gallant fight.Apart from the proposed friendly matches, the team is to regroup in Gaborone two weeks before the game.