Sheryl Botes: Uganda women football has bright future

Since her appointment as the head of all women’s national teams back in November, Botes has spent most of her time working on programmes to identify and develop talent for the Teen (U17), Queen (U20) and Crested (senior) Cranes. 

Although the Uganda Senior Women’s National team is yet to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup or Olympic Games, Botes, who is also the Uganda U17 Women’s team coach is confident they are heading in the right direction.

“I am excited because FUFA [Federation of Uganda Football Associations] has given their full support to all the Women’s programmes, and that is a very important move, which augurs well for the future,” said Botes. 

“Based on what I have seen and the discussions going on in the background, I think Uganda women's football has a bright future.”

Currently in camp with the Uganda U17 Women’s team in preparation for the 2025 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers, where they face Namibia in a two-legged affair on 16 and 19 January, Botes is confident of the outcome.

“”Women's football has become so competitive over the years, so there are no longer easy teams. We will make sure to study and analyse Ethiopia very well, to give a good account of ourselves,” she added.

“We brought in 39 players to have a look at all of them. The players are still very young, but showed good discipline, commitment to learn, and they understand what is required of them. I think it will be a good match against Namibia.”

The former South African U20 Women’s National team head coach says she has grown fond of Uganda after spending the past year-and-a-bit on the job.

“I am one year in Uganda now and I have grown to like it here – the country, the friendly and hardworking people, and the food,” she noted.

“Look, I must admit the first six months were very tough as I missed my family back home, but I managed to pull through because I knew what I was here for.”

The Cape Town-born mentor has identified a few challenges, and perhaps some that are commonly shared around the continent.

“It is a fact that every country has its own challenges, but what is glaring, and something that is happening in most parts of the continent, is that youth teams are not getting enough competitions.

“That becomes a big challenge, and there is also a serious lack in goalkeeper training, but I believe these are things we will overcome with time,” she concluded.

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