Botswana seek ACA support to accelerate growth of women’s football

Women’s football in Botswana is expanding rapidly, but a shortage of funding continues to hold back clubs and infrastructure, according to Botswana Football Association (BFA) Head of Women’s Football Tsholofelo Setlhoko.

Setlhoko was among the BFA officials who met representatives of the African Club Association (ACA) during its visit to Botswana this past weekend. The organisation is examining how it can support clubs and is encouraging teams to register with the continental body, which operates independently of CAF.

Botswana introduced its women’s National First Division this year, with 20 teams split between the north and south of the country. Setlhoko said the new competition reflected the progress being made, although clubs still faced significant financial and logistical difficulties.

“During recent years in Botswana, we’ve seen the development of women’s football and the growth of our clubs. As we speak, this year we have introduced our first division with twenty teams – ten in the north and ten in the south. So, you can see there is so much growth, but we are still facing a couple of challenges in terms of sponsorships for the clubs, challenges of infrastructure, and the development of where the women are playing,” said Setlhoko.

The ACA’s brief covers clubs’ interests across the game and involves working with CAF to address their concerns. Its remit extends beyond the men’s Inter-Club competitions to include the CAF Women’s Champions League and the clubs already taking part in the continental system.

Setlhoko believes that wider engagement with the ACA could help strengthen women’s football across Africa and provide practical support to clubs at national and regional level.

She was appointed a FIFA Women’s Football Development Expert in May last year, giving her experience of working on women’s football issues at global level.

There are also plans for further regional competition. COSAFA President and BFA President Tariq Babitseng is already discussing the introduction of a men’s regional club tournament, while a women’s equivalent is already in place in the region.

Setlhoko said programmes of this kind could give Botswana’s women’s clubs greater exposure and create additional opportunities for players to develop their careers.

Botswana already has evidence of progress on the continental stage. At last year’s CAF Women’s Champions League, the COSAFA region was represented by Botswana champions Gaborone United Ladies.

That participation underlined the foundations that have been established by the BFA, and Setlhoko believes the ACA’s initiative can help speed up the development of the women’s game across the continent.