Africa-Press – Botswana. Government is committed to stimulating economic diversification through sport tourism, including the hosting of international sporting competitions, Minister of Sport and Arts, Mr Jacob Kelebeng has said.
Responding to a parliamentary question on Monday, Minister Kelebeng said Botswana Football Association (BFA), on behalf of the country, successfully hosted the U17 CAF Youth Championships in 2007.
He said the CAF U17 Championship comprised of 16 countries while Botswana also hosted Council of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) U20 Championship in 2010 and 2011. He added that Botswana continues to host other international sporting competitions.
This year, Botswana hosted the All-Africa Badminton Championships from February 9-15, at the Royal Aria indoor-facility in Tlokweng. Furthermore, he said the country would host the World Athletics Relay Championships, in Gaborone on May 2-3 this year.
Again, he said Botswana would also host the Confederation of Universities and Colleges of Southern Africa (CUCSA) games in July, as well as the Africa Aquatics Zone 4 championships in September this year.
“I must inform the House that hosting the COSAFA tournament requires two stadia that conform to CAF category 2 or 3. Both the National Stadium and the Lobatse Sport Complex fulfil CAF category 2 requirements, while Obed Itani Chilume conform to CAF category 3 requirements, with five training football pitches needed for the tournament. The stadia facilities we have in the country are adequate to host the COSAFA Tournament Cup,” he said.
He added that compared to the COSAFA Cup, the most expensive football tournament requiring a higher budget and greater logistical preparations was the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals.
“Botswana made a bid to host the AFCON 2027 finals, but the bid was unsuccessful. Efforts will be made to host other international tournaments in the future, subject to budget availability,” he added.
He further indicated that the ministry, with the support of other relevant stakeholders, was planning to develop a hosting strategy, which would provide strategic guidance on hosting international sporting events.
In addition to adequately preparing to host regional and international sporting events such as COSAFA, during the twelfth National Development Plan (NDP 12), he said government, through the Ministry of Sport and Arts, had plans to build a 40,000-capacity national stadium.
Molepolole North MP, Mr Arafat Khan, had wanted to know when Botswana would begin to host international football tournaments such the COSAFA Cup. Mr Khan also wanted to know the measures the ministry was putting in place to ensure that the country was adequately prepared to host such regional and international sporting events.
