It is an anxious wait for the sport fraternity, eager to see who will be appointed the minister responsible for the sector. Boko is likely to appoint the new Sport minister next week and the local sporting figures have outlined their expectations for the individual who will be tasked with taking sport forward for the next five years. The key issues are grassroots-level development and the call for the return of a revamped sports participation that has been inactive for over five years. The issues also extend to increased funding for sporting codes, especially the minority codes and better care for elite athletes. The understanding of the dynamics of each sport has also been highlighted while infrastructure development is also cited as key.
What sport figures expect: Pontsho 'Piro' Moloi - football coach (Gaborone United) "I think it is of paramount importance to take the development of the game very seriously. I had a chat on a personal level with His Excellency before (the elections) about the development of the game locally.
He is a person that is really keen on football and sports in general, and he is keen on the development of the game. He has shown me that it is a side that he would do more (on)."
Kosmas Mamaloukos - 2022 Botswana Motorsport Best Rider "The development aspect covers a broad stream, especially for upcoming riders and drivers considering the sport is very costly. (There should be) newer initiatives and direct interactions with the relevant government officials to attend and be able to understand the different milestones faced by riders and drivers. (There is also a need to) come up (with) strategic ways to help and expose these to cross-border competitions to improve the overall performances of the natives, from young ones to older ones." Modisaotsile Badubi - president, Botswana Badminton Association "We hope the new government makes considerable investments in local sports through increased infrastructure development and increased funding for NSAs (National Sports Associations) with a pre-determined minimum subvention (grant) for lower tier codes. Particularly, the Botswana Badminton Association hopes for the re-introduction of school sports with an improved model for developing young talent through collaboration between the individual codes and revamped school sports body."
Tirelo Ditshipi - Public Relations officer, Botswana Cheerleading Federation "We expect improved infrastructure, for example, sporting facilities, both indoor and outdoor. We are doing very well on the international scene in various codes as such it would help to have our own High Performance Centre. It is long overdue." "Codes like cheerleading that are deemed small, should be handheld until they can stand on their own. For instance, unlike other 'traditional sports', we do not have a foundation or anything on the ground to set us up as such we learn from our counterparts regionally and internationally. Such experiences require funding either to attend these platforms and competitions or just bring them home to share their knowledge with us. It does not really make sense to say small codes will get less funding. To attract sponsors you need to grow so that they can also associate with you and realise a return on investment for their brands; growth requires resources. Holistic athletes' welfare is critical, we lose our stars along the way because we cannot take care of them. An elite athlete should be taken care of differently, what they eat, where they stay, and training is very important."
Mike 'Dubula' Sithole - football coach (Extension Gunners) "Football is a developing thing, there is always something upcoming. So there are no shortcuts in sports, you have to plan, there must be a plan. You have to start from somewhere, either a four-year plan or a two-year plan that is how it works in sports. If you do not have a plan, do not rush to get results, take it slow and results will come."
