21 Mar 2016

Plans for the development of professional sport in Botswana are articulated in the BNSC Act of 2014 and the BNSC Vision 2028, says the Minister of Youth, Sport, and culture Mr Thapelo Olopeng.

Mr Olopeng told Parliament on Thursday that the Act mandates BNSC to develop professional sport while the vision sets out objectives for attaining professionalism.

Responding to a question in Parliament, the minister said the implementation of the BNSC Vision 2028 had been going for three years now, adding that professionalism in sport was attained through development and exposure of athletes from an early age. 

He said programmes such as Re Ba Bona Ha, Centres of sport Excellence, local clubs, and age based national teams and participation in international competitions, were a case in point.

He stated that professionalism was a continuous process and that there were requirements within the process, such as appropriate infrastructure, which requires substantial resources.

MP for Gaborone North, Mr Haskins Nkaigwa had asked the minister what plans were in place to support professional sport development in the country, when such plans would be implemented and what was delaying professional sport development in the country. Ends