RENOWNED Botswana soccer boss Ashford "Dumba" Mamelodi credits the Premier Soccer League in South Africa with the success of the sport in his country.

This comes after the Zebras of Botswana qualified for their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations finals after beating Chad 1-0 on Saturday. Golden striker Jerome Ramatlhakwane became a national hero with his solitary goal in N'djamena.

There were wild celebrations in Botswana until the early hours of yesterday after a job well done by the Zebras.

Botswana are the first team to qualify for the 2012 Afcon finals that will be hosted jointly by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

"This is great, credit to the Premier Soccer League in South Africa for creating opportunities for players in Botswana to play for their clubs," said Mamelodi.

"It's not only in Botswana, other Southern Africa countries like Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi are also benefitting from the generosity of South African clubs."

PSL chairperson Irvin Khoza and his board have also been assisting various leagues in Africa, including Botswana, Kenya and Nigeria, to run financially sound administrations.

Some of the Botswana players playing in South Africa include Phenyo Mongala, Dipsy Seloloane, Mogogi Gabonamong and Ramatlhakwane.

Perennial whipping boys Botswana had failed to qualify under a plethora of foreign coaches, who seem to be popular in most African countries.

It was only after the Botswana Football Association employed former army general Stanley Tshosane as coach last year that their fortunes changed.

Under Tshosane, Botswana are unbeaten in six matches, including the 1-0 win over Tunisia that was a clear indication of their seriousness to succeed where previous generations had failed.

They lead Group K with 16 points from six matches and cannot finish lower than second in their qualifying group. The top two teams from Group K will qualify for next year's tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.