09 Jul 2025

As the senior women national football team, The Mares step into the Larbi Zaoouli Stadium for their crucial TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations against Nigeria tomorrow, Assistant Minister of Health, Lawrence Ookeditse says they should remember that it is not how they started, but how they finish the tournament, which matters.

Ookeditse, who is in Casablanca to rally behind the team, reminded them that the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon shocked the World by beating, star studded Argentina 1-0 in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Argentina by that time had the best in the world, amongst them Diego Maradona and Néstor Lorenzo, but Cameroon’s Oman Biyik made the difference by scoring the only goal, in the 67th minute of the game.

“Two stories from Italia 1990 World Cup, Cameroon went all the way to the quarter final, but Argentina despite being humiliated by Cameron in their opening game, managed to make it to the final, only to be beaten by Germany 1-0 in the final,” he recalled. 

As such, Ookeditse said onus was now on The Mares to demonstrate that they really want to proceed to the quarterfinals.

“If you want it more, you will get it, it is in the mind, in the heart, and there is nothing at all that says any team here is better than you,” he said. 

Ookeditse told the team that back home the whole population was excited and they were looking forward to the match.

“Batswana are excited and they believe that we can get somewhere, all this is your doing because on Sunday, when you played Algeria, you demonstrated that you are a good team,” he said.

Furthermore, he said although the results told a different story, the way they played the second stanza of the game demonstrated to the whole continent that they were a force to reckon with.

For her part, vice captain, Nondi Mahlasela thanked the assistant minister for the word of motivation; which she said came at the right time ahead of their battle against Nigeria.

“That’s exactly what we wanted to hear and we can promise Batswana that we are going to lift our heads. What happened with Algeria is in past, now we are focused,” she said. ENDS