17 Feb 2015

Francistown’s supreme development body has welcomed the news that the fourth edition of Botswana Games will be hosted in their city.

“We are happy you chose Francistown without us having to bid,” said the town clerk, Lebuile Israel, who also warned that he foresaw a day when bidding to host such events would be necessary.

Israel therefore urged fellow members of the Francistown Urban Development Committee (UDC) to work hard in order to prove that they too could do it.

“Let us prove that we can do it just as Gaborone has; let the people come here so they can see how ready and committed we are,” he said.

He said if they could handle the coming event successfully, surely they will be taken seriously to be able to win future hosting opportunities should the need to compete with other places arise.

Bobby Gaseitsewe of the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) announced during a UDC meeting that the fourth edition of Botswana Games will take place in Francistown early December.

The games will run for 10 days at various school venues around Francistown including the new stadium, Gaseitsewe said, adding that only Under-18s from 16 districts and 13 sporting codes around the country will participate.

“We are happy that the new Francistown Stadium will be completed mid-year, well before the games,” he said, before appealing to the local leadership to form committees for the success of the event.

Run under the auspices of BNSC, Botswana Games consist of 13 sporting codes, including volleyball, football, karate, softball, and netball, and they are sponsored by the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture.

Gaborone City hosted the inaugural tournament in 2007. The tournament would take place every two years, and in the last event hosted in Gaborone, there were 5 000 participants.

“But this time around the number of participants will be reduced particularly due to logistical problems and the need for the right quality of participants,” he said. ENDS