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Referees cry foul

June 25, 2019, 7:39 am
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Ntshinogang
…as broke BPL fails to pay them Despite the fact that Botswana Premier League (BPL) is currently swimming in debts – some dating as far as 2017 – CEO Thabo Ntshinogang has maintained that they had a great season on the field. During the BPL assembly which was held last week it was shared that the league currently has a P3 million debt which is owed to various creditors to an extent that clubs have given out some money to support the cash-stripped BPL. In addition to that clubs have agreed to relinquish two months of grants in order to ease the BPL financial struggles. While all clubs have been paid their prize monies and monthly grants for the season, it is the referees who are the worst causalities. According to sources, referees are not yet paid some of their dues for the just ended season, something which Ntshinogang was diplomatic about and not willing to discuss at length. “First let me indicate that although referees expenses are one of the items which do not have direct funding, we always endeavour to pay for all their expenses and also pay their fees. It will not be different this season. The…
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Boxers protest over unpaid fees

June 25, 2019, 7:43 am
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Boxers protest over unpaid fees
Two months after the successful hosting of the Africa Zone 4.3 Boxing Championship in Gaborone where Botswana triumphed and emerged as regional champions, senior national team boxers are yet to be paid their appearance fees. The tournament was held in April where Team Botswana amassed a total of nine medals being six gold medals, one silver and two bronze. However only camp allowances were paid to the athletes by Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC). Competitions, which are regional, continental and global as sanctioned by international sports governing bodies, are the only ones which attract the incentives provided the sports association has been given permission to compete by BNSC. As it stands boxers are paid camp allowance at a rate of P50.00 per day while they get appearance fees of P2 000.00 per match. One boxer, who preferred to be anonymous, said even though it has been a long time since the competition was staged they haven’t been paid their dues and have not received any official communication with regard to when the payments will be made. “We have been waiting for some time to get the payments but we have nothing at this time. Hopefully they will pay. They have…
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BOTESSA team set for 2019 FISU games

July 3, 2019, 7:04 am
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BOTESSA team set for 2019 FISU games
Botswana Tertiary Student Sports Association (BOTESSA) has assembled a team of seven athletes who will represent the country at the 2019 Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU) games in Napoli, Italy from the 3rd to the 13th of July. The team comprise of athletics kingpins Thabiso Sekgopi, Clifton Meshack, Gorata Gabankitse, Omondi Lesedi ,Loungo Matlhaku, Xholani Talane and Monaiwa Thapelo who all qualified for the games during Botessa National Athletics Championships and Gaborone International Meet (GIM) events which were staged earlier this year. To be in a good shape for the world university games the athletes have been busy competing in local track events amongst others, the GIM and Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) national championships and relays. Meshack and Matlhaku secured their spots at the competition during the GIM where they registered impressive times of 46.83s and 11.59s in 400m and 100m respectively. Sekgopi, Lesedi, Meshack, Talane qualified as part of the 4x400mrelay team while Gabankitse and Monaiwa have qualified in 800mand long jump respectively. Onkabetse Nkobolo did qualify as part of the relay team but since he is over 25 years, he couldn’t be part of the crew since FISU games are for athletes aged 18 to 25 years.…
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BAA sends team to regional champs

July 3, 2019, 7:20 am
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Botswana Athletics Association PRO Ipolokeng Ramatshaba
The disappointment of two months ago, when Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) failed to have relay teams participate in the World Relays, is now water under the bridge as the association shifts focus to the Confederation of African Athletics Southern Region Senior Championships. This time the association has not left anything to chance having assembled a strong youthful team for the Mauritius games set for July 6-7. Botswana performed quite well at the competition in 2017 coming second behind South Africa with 15 medals (4 gold, 5 silver & 6 bronze medals). The 22-member team will compete in both track and field events to try and improve their world rankings as well as qualifying for the upcoming prestigious events such as the IAAF World Championships and Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The men’s team comprise of Zabrone Machara, Thuto Masasa, Keene Motukisi, Thwanyane Rebeilwe, Ditiro Nzamani, Zibani Ngozi, Leaname Maotoanong, Keene Motukisi, Leungo Scotch and Onneile Phokedi. They will compete in 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x400m and 4x100m relay events. The ladies team includes Refilwe Murangi, Belinda Lakose, Rose Senane, Oarabile Babolayi, Oratile Nowe, Tlhomphang Basele, Tsaone Sebele and Motlatsi Rante. Botswana will also be represented in field events by Tshwanelo Aabobe, Aobakwe Nkobela…
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Setsile wins big

July 3, 2019, 7:22 am
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Thero Setsile
Thero Setsile of Jwaneng Galaxy capped off an impressive 2018/19 season by winning three significant awards at the BTC premiership awards on Thursday night. His club was the toast of the night as it dominated the awards ceremony. Though Galaxy did not win the league this season, they scooped five of six of the honours which were on offer. Mahachi, as Setsile is known to his legion of fans, won the prestigious Player of the Season award ahead of teammate Ezekiel Morake and Township Rollers’ Joel Mogorosi to pocket a whooping P100, 000. He continued with his supremacy by clinching the Players’ Player of the Season accolade against Gofaone Mabaya and Mothusi Cooper. Setsile also took home the top goal scorer award after netting 18 goals this season which means the 24–year-old will go home P200,000 richer. The Maun-born striker played a significant role in Galaxy’s success this season having netted 18 goals even though at some time he played an unfamiliar role of a left back. His impressive performance was not only visible in the league as he also dominated at the Mascom Top 8 tournament where he walked away with player of the tournament award and the golden…
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Youth take over local chess

July 9, 2019, 11:32 pm
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Mpene
… As Mpene wins gold in Africa Schools’ champs; Gabatshwane shines at Metropolitan tourney Botswana Chess Federation (BCF) development structures seems to be bearing fruits following the recent success stories of their junior teams in various international competitions. This week the chess fraternity was in great frenzy as 10-year-old Thuto Mpene clichéd gold at the Africa Schools Chess Championships in Uganda. Mpene, who hails from Letlhakane, dominated his Under 11 category accumulating 8.5 points out of nine rounds. He won the tournament without registering any loss but only a single draw – a feat which gave him an automatic qualification to the World Schools Chess Championships in 2020. For the past three years, Botswana has dominated the tournament winning it consecutively from 2016 until 2018, but this year BCF could not send a team to Uganda due to financial constraints. Last year in South Africa the junior team won eight gold, one silver and two bronze medals which was record breaking for Team Botswana as they have managed only nine medals in the 2016 and 2017 editions. The team has since produced stars like WFMs Naledi Marape, Besa Masaiti and WCM Refilwe Gabatshwarwe who are fast growing up the ladder…
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V-ball ladies flop at AFCON

July 17, 2019, 8:27 am
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V-ball ladies flop at AFCON
Botswana’s hopes of doing well at this year’s CAVB Women’s Africa Cup of Nations have been dashed following a poor showing by the local side throughout the competition in the absence of the head coach Kabo Ntshinogang. Ntshinogang did not travel with the team due to work commitments. However assistant coaches Makgetla Gareanna and Tshepo Molosiwa held the fort in his absence. The tournament, which started on 9th of July and expected to end on July 14, is held in Cairo, Egypt. Having attracted powerhouses in the likes of Algeria, Cameroon, Kenya and hosts Egypt the tournament was always going to be a mountain to climb for Team Botswana considering that they are lowest ranked team in the competition. Having drawn in pool B together with Cameroon, Kenya and Algeria, Botswana has been having it tough. They have lost all their games so far; claiming only one set against Algeria. The result means the local girls have failed to advance to the knockout stages. Following an impressive showing during the zonal All Africa games qualifiers in Mozambique last month, hopes were high that the team will improve their standing in the continental competition. Even though Botswana has underlined supremacy in…
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BoBA gets P1m for Olympics

July 21, 2019, 3:32 am
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Patlakwe
Botswana Boxing Association (BoBA) has received a major financial boost for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The local boxing governing body has received P1.1 million towards the preparations of the summer games. Following a successful display at the Africa Zone 4.3 championship where local pugilists dominated and won the tournament, BoBA has come up with a robust programme specifically for the Olympic Games. BoBA’s efforts come at a time in which Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) is battling with raising funds for preparations of all athletes who will qualify for the games. With that, BNOC is currently running a robust SMS donation campaign in order to raise funds and meet their target of winning four medals in Tokyo. BoBA leadership has vowed to channel most of the resources towards the preparations of the Tokyo Games in order to make sure that at least some of the national team boxers qualify for the world’s biggest games. Boxing performance has been on a downward spiral in the past years more especially with boxers failing to qualify for the Olympics. The last time when a Botswana boxer qualified for the Olympics was in 2012 for the London games courtesy of Oteng Oteng. Local boxers…
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Busy transfer market

July 21, 2019, 3:35 am
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Dambe and Nyumasi
Despite current uncertainty over whether Botswana Premier League (BPL) will retain Botswana Telecommunications Limited (BTC) as the title sponsors or not, clubs are busy recruiting players to strengthen their squads. Signs of a broken down relationship were visible at the 2018/19 season BPL awards where there were no sponsors representatives or even banners. Clubs have not been bogged down by this. Township Rollers, Orapa United and Jwaneng Galaxy have been busy in the transfer market of late preparing for the upcoming season. Despite having a good season and clinching the FA cup in style Orapa United has released most of their players in what the technical team has deemed as a rebuilding process of the club. The club has parted ways with Tendai Nyumasi, Olekantse Mambo, Kaelo Joseph, Kabo Mungabe and Oabile Bathusi. Most of the released players have been very influential in the club and contributed immensely to the recent success in the Mascom Top 8 and FA Cup. The Ostriches have moved swiftly to replace the departed players, signing Tanzanian midfielder Adbdallah Hamisi, Lawrence Ndunga and Thato Seagateng. However, the most shocking transfer is that of Lemogang Maswena who has jumped ship from United and joined Galaxy. Having…
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BDF IX, Bears win Softball Extravaganza

July 24, 2019, 11:41 pm
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Bears Ladies Team
BDF IX men’s softball team and Bears ladies team were crowned champions of the 11th annual Selebi-Phikwe Softball Extravaganza that was held during the President’s holidays n. The two teams pocketed P40 000 each for their marvellous performance at Botswana’s most lucrative softball tournament. BDF IX defeated Police IX by 5 runs to 0 during a highly competitive final while Bears humbled Panthers by 2 runs to 1. The army officers’ pitcher, Kagiso Mogale, was on top of his game as he eliminated opponents with ease. Police IX failed to register even a single run when the first inning came to an end while BDF IX registered three quick runs. BDF IX was the favourites to win the final after their fierce competitors, defending champions Jwaneng-based Wells were eliminated in the semi –finals. Lt Colonel, James Moremedi, BDF IX coach, attributed his troops’ success to hard work. “After our game against Real Giants, my players started to focus on the ultimate prize. Initially we were low in attack but we corrected our mistakes and everything went according to our plan,” the elated Moremedi said. Moremedi showered his pitcher, Mogale with praises for his outstanding performance, reiterating that in softball the…
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Amos, Christine shine

July 24, 2019, 11:47 pm
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Amos and Botlogetswe
Duo doing well at the IAAF Diamond League Following an unsuccessful 2018 in the IAAF Diamond League series, local athletes seem to have found their rhythm in this year’s campaign. With this year being considered to be very hectic due to preparation of international events like World Championships and qualifying for Tokyo 2020 Olympics, local athletes have been busy battling it out at the Diamond league series where they have so far registered impressive results. According to local athletics analysts Amogelang Masalela and Lentswe Charlie, local athletes can still dish more great performances. As of now the country’s 800m star Nijel Amos has been doing quite well in his category. His recent memorable performance is the 1.41.89 time he clocked at the Monaco Diamond League where he also set the new meet record and the World Leading time for this year. With three races to spare, Amos has already qualified for the finals which are slated for Brussels and Zurich from August 29th to September 6th after accumulating 31 points from four races. Only the top eight athletes have the opportunity to slug it out at the finals for the lucrative prize. Therefore Amos is one of the serious contenders…
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Gunners turn to politicians

July 24, 2019, 11:51 pm
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Gunners turn to politicians
… As Boko claims to have helped acquire a bus for them Extension Gunners’ financial troubles might have not only attracted the attention of football lovers but the sympathy of politicians to help the club. Last week at the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) conference which was held in Gaborone, party president Duma Boko publicly declared he has used his connections to help acquire a bus for Gunners – mainly through Pontsho Moloi who has been at the helm of the team as a coach. The Lobatse-based side is one of the teams which are currently bedeviled by financial difficulties, hence still struggling with settling debts which were incurred as far back as 2012. According to the available information, the bus is expected to be delivered in September this year. Various Botswana Premier League (BPL) teams continue to incur some huge costs in order to attend league games though it has turned out that the rewards are nothing but just mere peanuts and are not enough to cover all the operational costs. Player welfare also remain a great concern as teams sometimes fail to pay salaries and rent for players well on time. The number of cases concerning disputes between…
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Masitaoka targets Premier League

July 30, 2019, 12:36 am
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Masitaoka Football Team
Supporters of Molepolole domiciled football giants Masitaoka FC heaved a sigh of relieve on Thursday afternoon after Botswana Football Association (BFA) granted their side permission to ursup the status of defunct Black Peril in the more prestigious First Division league. Public Relations Officer, Nkosinathi Zo Malanga, announced late Thursday afternoon that the team had successfully acquired the status of Black Peril FC and will ply their trade in the Debswana First Division South, for the 2019 /20 season which starts on September 07. "We thank Black Peril for this gesture given to us and other well wishers for the support given to us all this time," said Malanga. Financed by a passionate investor from Molepolole -local businessman Mmonesi Arel Ralebala, Maja Tlhaga -as Masitaoka is fondly known by its legion of fans and hordes of supporters donning royal blue and white replicas, is leaving nothing to chance. They are already engaged in pre-season preparations that saw them compete in a tournament involving three other teams in Taung on Saturday among them Gaborone based Notwane Football Club. Although Masitaoka management has remained tight lipped, by last week former premier league stars among them Michael Pepukani, Topo Piet and Emmanuel Nlu were…
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BOKA overhauls technical team

August 1, 2019, 4:19 am
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BOKA overhauls technical team
… Throws three coaches under the bus In an unexpected turn of events, Botswana Karate Association (BoKA) has moved swiftly to relieve national team coaches from their duties just two weeks after the UFAK Senior and junior championships which was marred by a lot of controversy. Head coach of the junior team George Tshikare together with his assistant Moses Jones and assistant coach of the senior team Peter Molefhe are some of the causalities of the overhaul which is said to be initiated by lack of funds. Only senior team coaches Christopher Ponatshego and his assistant Keone Kgorothe have been spared. However, according to sources close to the developments, what might have influenced BOKA leadership on this decision is the disappointing performance of the national team during UFAK. Team Botswana came on distant eighth position with 13 medals being two silver and 11 bronze but no gold; falling short of their target of 15 medals. Though BOKA denies that the three coaches were dismissed because of the recent bad performance of the team, karate has never been at peace this year as their troubles keep on erupting and intensifying . Favoritisms and sowing seeds of discord among various affiliates and…
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Relay teams seek World Champs place

August 1, 2019, 4:26 am
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Botswana women's team training at the National Stadium
Following an incident in which local relay teams failed to compete at the IAAF World Relays in May after Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) blunder the team is being given a second chance at qualification. The team – men and women – are currently in Bahamas to compete in a championship set for July 28-29, 2019. The ladies team comprise of Oratile Nowe, Loungo Matlhaku, Galefele Moroko, Oarabile Babolayi and Amantle Montsho. Baboloki Thebe, Boitumelo Masilo, Leungo Scotch, Onkabetse Nkobolo and Zibani Ngozi make up the men’s team. However the teams are without Nijel Amos and Christine Botlogetswe who are on the sidelines due to minor hamstring injuries. Due to the absence of the duo chances of competing in mixed relays are very slim as reported by the technical team. By failing to make it to the World Relays, Botswana teams missed a great opportunity of qualifying as one of the top 10 teams. According to the qualification standards for the IAAF World Athletics championship only 16 relay teams will qualify for the completion. This means 10 nations have already qualified from the World relays, leaving only six slots up for grabs. Nonetheless since the closing of qualification for World Champs…
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Orange Botswana invests in sports development

August 6, 2019, 4:10 am
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Orange Botswana invests in sports development
• revive Orange Phikwe National Marathon sponsorship Orange Botswana has partnered with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to host the exciting Orange Phikwe National Marathon, renewing its sponsorship to the tune of P660,000.00 for the next three years in alignment with the company’s business strategy to help grow, nurture and support local talent and sports development initiatives. “The Orange Phikwe National Marathon shines a spotlight on the town of Selibe-Phikwe and creates an atmosphere of excitement for the people of the town. It also offers great support and opportunities for the many local businesses directly and indirectly involved with the event. This occasion brings renewed hope and energy at a time when the residents need it most following the closure of the mines. Through this Marathon we hope to instil a strong sense of unity through the community, as we all come together for health and wellness,” said Orange Botswana Director Legal & Corporate Affairs, Lepata Mafa-Nthumole. The 2019 Orange Phikwe National Marathon, which is accredited by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), will take place on 14th of September 2019. It is expected to attract both international and local runners, professionals and amateurs alike. Runners can choose from…
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V-ball teams fail in Africa

August 7, 2019, 6:39 am
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BDF VI [red] playing against Desert King in the Mascom Volleyball league in Molepolole on 9 June 2018
The absence of the national volleyball league has become a thorn into Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) as performances of the national teams continue to dwindle in each and every international competition. While there are more national team activities to come in the next months, team performances have become a great concern as the two teams (Ladies & men) continue to register poor performances, a situation which has been a attributed to lack of action locally more especially the national league. The departure of Mascom Wireless after the 2018 season has left a very big void in the volleyball fraternity as clubs have been left stranded without action for the past nine months. Just recently the national teams embarked on a journey to the Africa Nations Championships in Tunisia and Egypt, but returned home empty handed having suffered heavy losses. The ladies side finished last out of the seven teams with the same for men in a tournament of 10 teams. The same predicament befell the teams in 2017 when the national league was not played also due to lack of sponsorship. Once regarded as one of the best sporting codes locally, BVF’s brand has diminished in standing, having lost almost…
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Chess returns to All Africa games

August 7, 2019, 7:08 am
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Khetho, Francis and Oatlhotse
Chess will once again draw its legion of fans to the All Africa Games after missing out the 2015 edition which was held in Congo Brazzaville. Chess was not part of the 2015 games mainly due to the fact that the host nation did not have chess as a sport in their country. However this time around chess brains march all the way to Morocco where they will fight for supremacy and Africa glory. As preparations for the games continue to intensify across various sporting codes, Botswana Chess Federation (BCF) is not left behind. They have assembled a team of four players who will represent the nation at the two-week long competition. The team comprise of IM Providence Oatlhotse and FM Phemelo Khetho who secured the spots by the virtue of being the most high rated player in the country and national champion respectively. WIM Onkemetse Francis and WCM Refilwe Gabatshwarwe complete the team in the ladies section. The last time Botswana competed at the event in 2011 in Mozambique, the ladies team won a bronze medal and numerous individual awards courtesy of WIM Boikhutso Modongo, WCM Ontiretse Sabure and Moakofi Notha. However, the current team is expected to rise…
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Grassroots sport development alive -BNSC

August 15, 2019, 12:43 am
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Kids at Re Ba Bona Ha programme launch
Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC), an organisation mandated with sport development in Botswana, has dismissed allegations that failure by local athletes to dominate world events is a result of lack of proper planning and strategies for grassroots development. In this article BNSC clarifies issues relating to grassroots sports structures and development. Grassroots Development structures The notion that past and current athletes who have posted impressive results have done so by luck and not as a result of the existing grassroots structures cannot be further from the truth. Despite the limited funding and other challenges that we are all alive to, sport structures such as Botswana Primary Schools Sports Association, Botswana Integrated Sports Association and Botswana Tertiary Students Sports Associations have run programmes that have accelerated development programmes and as such accorded this country some of the best talents in the World. This is of course in addition to the National Sports Programmes such as Re Ba Bona Ha, Centres of Sport Excellence, Sports Development Fund, Zebra Athletes Fund and Elite Scholarship Fund which National Sport Associations have adopted and used to produce some of the high performing athletes. Re Ba Bona Ha grows in leaps and bounds The Re Ba…
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BOKA accused of cheating

August 15, 2019, 12:54 am
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Team Botswana at the 2019 UFAK Junior & Senior championship competition
Botswana Karate Association(BoKA) troubles are far from over as the controversy surrounding UFAK Junior & Senior championship is subsiding. Some volunteers who were engaged by the federation during the tournament have come out with guns blazing demanding payments for their services. Though most of volunteers were strictly under the wing of Sports Volunteers Movement (SVM) during the games, there were some of volunteers engaged by BoKA directly to help during the competition. About 20 volunteers claim that their daily duties included putting up the fighting matts and technical duties which included taking part in referees practical by fighting and keeping scores during competition. Although under normal circumstances volunteers just extend a helping hand without expecting any payment but in this matter it was agreed by the two parties that they will be paid a flat rate of P50 per day. This therefore means that each individual is owed around P300 for their services during the six day tournament. According to one of the disgruntled volunteers the situation is really inconveniencing because the federation officials have come to a point of not updating them on the matter. “Though someone might say this is small amount of money it is what we…
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