The sponsorship of P200,000 which is a decrease from P250, 000 from the previous edition, was launched on Friday. The tournament will be held during the Independence holidays at the National Diamond.
The women’s defending champions are Police IX while the men’s side champions are BDF IX. Each zone (North and South) will have its own eliminations. The BSA president, Katlholo Mosimanegape said despite Archein Hardware sponsorship decline, they have received P50,000 from Botswana Softball Masters Association (BOSMA).
He said the funds have assisted BSA to close the gap that was left by Archein Hardware sponsorship. Mosimanegape said the sponsorship in the last edition was used for prize money for clubs, medals, incentives for officials, which is the same commitment for the upcoming edition. “We have been working with Archein Hardware since last year when the first edition of this tournament was held. The company has also worked with other National Sport Associations (NSAs).
The BSA used to have a league but post COVID-19, it has been impossible for the league to be played due to lack of sponsorship. Our league sponsor, BoFINET was with us for almost five years but the pandemic ended all that,” he said.
Mosimanegape said the relationship with BoFINET still exists as they continue to assist with internet connection at the National Diamond. He said sport after COVID-19 has been difficult to manage, not only softball. “Tournaments by nature have challenges because they do not accommodate all our affiliates.
The majority of the clubs are eliminated early into the tournament, failing to reach the top eight,” he said.
For his part, Archein Hardware managing director, Nikunj Mehta said his business is supported by the community and it is only right for him to support the same community.
Mehta said economic situations are currently tough at the moment hence the decline in the sponsorship.
He promised that they will continue to sponsor the tournament and increase the sponsorship when possible. The Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) strategy and business development manager, Baboni Kupe said as stakeholders, they should be innovative and see how best they can take sport forward or they risk finding themselves in a situation whereby there is no competitive sport in Botswana.
