Participants started arriving in Botswana on Saturday ahead of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s World Cup Africa Qualifier games scheduled from February 7 to 10.

Team Kenya were the first to arrive in Gaborone on Saturday afternoon ahead of the four-team qualifying tournament that also features South Africa and Lesotho. South Africa were expected to arrive on Sunday, while Lesotho will arrive on Monday morning.

Top two teams at the Africa qualifier will advance to the World Cup group stage, with Botswana and South Africa being top favourites based on their rankings and previous performance.

The opening match of the tournament will see the hosts battle it out with Lesotho at the National Diamond Stadium on Tuesday in what is expected to be an easy game for Botswana.

The opening match of the tournament will see the hosts battle it out with Lesotho at the National Diamond Stadium on Tuesday in what is expected to be an easy game for Botswana.

Botswana, who has been in camp for the past three weeks, announced their final 16-women squad last Monday. The squad boasts of some experienced players, with five having represented Botswana in the Europe Africa Olympic Qualifier 2019 in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

With only four participants, the tournament will be played in a double round robin format, where they have to play one opponent twice and top two teams will play each other in the final to determine the final rankings.