The Jwaneng Galaxy tactician was appointed Zebras’ caretaker coach last Thursday following the abrupt departure of Didier Gomes Da Rosa. The Bloemfontein native will return to the national team dugout in two weeks, as Zebras host Mauritania at the Obed Itani Chulime Stadium. This will be his third national team assignment, following his successful guidance of South Africa's Bafana Bafana to victory at the COSAFA Cup on his first attempt in 2021. His most recent stint was in July 2023.
However, he has never been a substantive national head coach, and the Zebras' job will carry the heaviest weight. Ramoreboli will face Egypt away just four days after the Mauritania tie. The two-time league champion will keep the majority of the technical team, with Gaborone United’s head coach, Pontsho Moloi, staying on as the assistant coach. Speaking to MmegiSport recently, Ramoreboli said the Zebras' duties would not interfere with his work at Galaxy as the local league would be on break.
He thought that Galaxy would function without his influence in the period as he believed he could make a meaningful contribution to the national team. “(It is) two matches (during) FIFA break, no matches for Jwaneng Galaxy but when you go for break saying it is my team in a position to operate and function without my influence? The answer will be, yes. Can they automate things without you? The answer is, yes. Can you go and contribute to the national team as you have been asked to provide service? The answer is, yes. I will go there and provide because after all this is a huge responsibility that needs individuals who are committed because if you look around and ask every Motswana, they want to see the Zebras at the AFCON," Ramoreboli said. He is, however, aware of the magnitude of the task that lies ahead as the Zebras need just three points to make it to the next edition of the AFCON finals, which will only be for the second time in history. Ramoreboli said the team would need to get a win at home against Mauritania before they could think about the away trip to North Africa. “The dream is to take the team to the AFCON, and for us to do so, there is a lot of work that needs to be done. The technical team needs to work, especially trying to analyse our opponent. Everyone is talking about the two matches but in this situation, the first match is very important. If we can get what we want in the first match then we can start talking about the second match. The most important thing is to try being positive, work hard and get positive results in the first match,” he said.
Ramoreboli is expected to name his preliminary squad next week as the team will go into camp next weekend. MmegiSport has been informed that Ramoreboli has requested local football authorities to suspend week six of the FNB Premiership fixtures to pave the way for an early camp for the Zebras.
