Botswana FA looks to ACA for positive change in continental women’s football

She was one of the BFA officials, who were in attendance for the African Club Association (ACA) visit in Botswana this past weekend. The ACA visit was looking at how best they can support teams, also encouraging the teams to register under the continental club body, which is run independently from CAF. Setlhoko says they launched their women’s National First Division this year, but still have some challenges.

"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.

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The ACA is tasked with driving clubs’ football interests and addressing them together with CAF, and this extends beyond the men’s Inter-Club competitions to the CAF Women’s Champions League and clubs that are already in the system. Setlhoko says the ACA can play a big role in advancing the progress of women’s football on the continent.

Setlhoko is also no stranger to the global stage, as she was appointed to serve as a FIFA Women's Football Development Expert in May last year. Already the COSAFA President, who is also the BFA President, Tariq Babitseng is talking about the introduction of a regional men’s club tournament, something that already exists for women in the region. Setlhoko says their women’s teams can get a lot of exposure through these programmes and bring more opportunities for players.

At last year’s CAF Women’s Champions League, the COSAFA region was represented by Botswana champions Gaborone United Ladies, this proves that BFA already got good foundation for women’s football. Setlhoko says the initiative brought by ACA will accelerate the growth of the women’s game on the continent.