He also said there are currently 480 professional athletes in the country, mainly from the Botswana Premier League (BPL). He stated that the country has 16 international professional athletes based in the Diaspora.
Rakgare was answering a question from Member of Parliament for Selebi-Phikwe West, Dithapelo Keorapetse on Friday. Keorapetse had asked the Minister to brief the House on the ministry’s contribution to GDP, total number of jobs, number of professionals in Botswana and the Diaspora, state of the leagues, earnings of professional players, roles of the State and private sector. “National Sport Associations (NSAs) are struggling to organise league competitions due to lack of sponsors for their respective leagues.
The situation was compounded by the outbreak of COVID-19 as the corporate sector’s revenues declined. Currently only the Botswana Football Association (BFA) has leagues that are running,” Rakgare said.
He said in instances where there are no leagues, there are tournaments that are organised by various sporting associations to ensure that athletes get competitive playing time. Regarding earnings of professional players, Rakgare said athletes usually sign individual contracts with their employers. He added that the contracts remain confidential between employer and the employee.
“In the context of Botswana, professional players are those that earn a minimum of P3,000 monthly,” he said. On the role of government, Rakgare said it creates a conducive environment for the corporate world to invest in sports and assist in sport development by sponsoring leagues, national teams and clubs. He also said government provides an annual subvention to the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) to facilitate international participation in major competitions.
“Government also motivates athletes and volunteers that contribute to the development of sport in Botswana. Government has rewards and incentives for national team athletes, which is being implemented since 2012. The Ministry also assists in negotiating sponsorships for sport in the private sector, and has been successful", he said.
