Zebras utilise SA facilities

Johannesburg - Botswana have opted to utilise the footballing facilities in South Africa for their Africa Cup of Nations preparations rather than Qatar, coach Stanley Tshosane revealed. The Zebras will travel to the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus in Phokeng for their final training sessions ahead of next month's African spectacular in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

The facilities were highly favoured by England coach Fabio Capello during the 2010 World Cup, and Tshosane has also spoken of his delight at utilising the venue.

"We were highly impressed with what we saw at Royal Sport Campus. It is one of the best facilities I have seen in the world," Tshosane told The Sowetan.

"We were supposed to have flown to Qatar for a training camp but it did not make sense to me. It takes us three hours to drive from Gaborone to Phokeng. Flying to Qatar would have been costly too for us."

Botswana are preparing to make their debut appearance in the continental showpiece, but the coach is confident his side will be ready for their Group D kick-off against Ghana on January 24.

"Everything is going according to plan," he added. "All the 25 players who are on the provisional squad are in camp with the exception of Mogogi Gabonamong, who is coming after attending to family commitments."