25 Nov 2015

Botswana will make it a first for Africa when the southern African country hosts a Netball World Youth Cup (NYWC) in 2017. Australia won the bid four times while New Zealand hosted the cup three times, now it is time for Africa to shine.

At least 20 countries are expected to participate in the tournament. 

Officially launching the NYWC local organising committee (LOC) on Tuesday November 24, Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Thapelo Olopeng, said his ministry had committed a budget of P15 million over three years for the team’s preparations as well as for hosting NYWC.

He said he was aware that the money would not cover the total cost of the games.

“I therefore urge Batswana and particularly the corporate world, to support the games financially and by whatever means,” he said.

Olopeng said his ministry strived for inclusive participation in sport, hence not hesitating to support the bid by Botswana Netball Association (BONA) to bring the games to the country.

Government, he said, also realised the related social and economic benefits that the event would present.

Through NYWC 2017, he said Botswana would be at the centre stage of the netball family and a destination for tourism and investment.

“This resonated with the Botswana Excellent Strategy for hosting event-based tourism, therefore hosting the NYWC will require greater investment in junior development programmes and competitions” he said 

Furthermore, Olopeng said hosting the games would reinforce pursuit of excellence through utilisation of modern sport science and practice, adding that the games would also present a unique and an unpararelled platform to expose young sport persons to rigorous competition to prepare them for the future.

The minister informed the local organising committee that hosting games of this magnitude required high calibre leadership, meticulous programme planning and implementation in all aspects of event management.

Botswana Netball Association, patron, Botlhogile Tshireletso, said she was confident that Botswana would deliver a world class event.

“As the BONA patron, I wish to pledge my support to working with the LOC. In fact I had a meeting sometime back with the head of LOC and president of BONA and they requested that I lead the lobby group that will focus on the aspect of netball development and legacy’’ she said.

BONA president, Tebogo Lebotse-Sebego said the dream to host the Netball World Youth Cup started off as a far-fetched and dangerous ambition. 

“Those of you who have worked closely with me will agree that at times I let my enthusiasm for netball get the better of me and I tend to sometimes push the boundaries in the believe that we can achieve so much more”, she said.

Lebotse-Sebego said in  2009, she headed a delegation for the Under 21 team that competed at a similar event in Cook Islands. 

Rarotonga had a population of under 15 000 people whereas Botswana has a population of about two million people and so she was inspired by the fact that an island with less than one per cent of Botswana population size successfully delivered the games. Ends