GABORONE, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Botswana senior women's football national team is set to start preparations for the 2020 Women's AFCON Qualifiers as early as next week.
In an interview with Xinhua in Gaborone on Tuesday, coach Gaolethoo Nkutwisang said early preparations will come in handy to enable her to assemble a formidable team.
The preparations are however dependent on availability of funds, she said. Botswana has been drawn against Namibia, and the duo's two-legged encounters are billed for April, with the winner proceeding to the next round.
"Having eliminated Namibia from Olympic qualifiers recently with our Under-20 side, they will be out to get us. Playing against a team that is wounded is never an easy assignment as they have a score to settle. We wouldn't want to be caught with our pants down, hence the need to ready ourselves for the battle," she said.
In a quest to avoid being defeated by a vengeful opponent, the technical team has vowed to call outstanding, tenacious and hungry players, who are willing to make it to the AFCON final.
The coach said early preparations will afford all the players an opportunity to prove their mettle, adding that this time, trials will be conducted for players to make the cut in the senior team.
"We are going to call all players who are within the structure and have been performing, and add some players who are already in the senior team," she said.
Nkutwisang said the players will have to unleash their potential to be selected into the national team, which is a pool of players who will be graduating from the Under-20 team.
Botswana FA committee member Tsoseletso Magang told Xinhua that the association will support the senior team in its quest to qualify for the 2020 Women's AFCON.
