The latest defeat came at the hands of Tunisia, a 3-0 shellacking on September 7, which cranked pressure on Mpote. But the Botswana Football Association (BFA) is calm with Mpote's situation and so is the coach. BFA chief executive officer, Mfolo Mfolo told The Monitor's sister publication, Mmegi that there are no pending talks with the coach over the results. He said Mpote remains the Zebras coach, an indication of the confidence the association has in the former Orapa United mentor.
Talking to The Monitor, Mpote said he was not concerned about his position as his 'real' work starts with the World Cup qualifiers, which kick-off in November. "I am not," Mpote said when quizzed if he was concerned about his future. "I start my campaign on November 18 (World Cup qualifiers)," he added.
When appointing Mpote, the BFA gave the coach four targets, which include qualifying for the 2025 AFCON finals, winning the COSAFA Cup next year, taking the Zebras to the top 30 rankings in Africa and making sure the team is at next year's Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) finals.
Each target has a percentage with going to the AFCON finals carrying the biggest weighting at 40%. Going to the CHAN finals will earn Mpote 20%, the same as ensuring a top 30 ranking and winning the COSAFA Cup. Mpote knows he has his work cut out as results have come in dribs and drabs, with the team managing only one win in six AFCON qualifiers. For the World Cup qualifiers, Botswana is drawn against former African champions, Algeria, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique and Somalia.
