23 Mar 2016

To date, the government has spent over P125 million on constituency sport tournaments since inception in 2008.

The Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Mr Thapelo Olopeng said the correct name for the programme was constituency sport tournaments, and not constituency league.

He said the P125 million amount included prize money for all codes involved among them football, volleyball and netball and the logistics of facilitating the tournaments such as referee and volunteer allowances.

The minister said the tournaments have added value to sport by increasing participation levels across the country. He noted that for cycle three of the 2015/16 financial year, the number of participants stood at 78 321.

Mr Olopeng said participants consisted of out of school youth who were not participating in any mainstream league structures.

He said the objective of the tournament was to meaningfully engage out of school youth and accord them a platform and an opportunity to showcase their skills and talent as well as to improve their health, fitness and well-being. The minister said those with exceptional skills and talent have been identified by scouts and registered with mainstream teams in different sporting codes.

He said some of the constituency teams have invested their prize monies by setting up businesses.

He said the tournament has positively contributed to the development of the formal leagues of the Botswana Football Association (BFA), as outstanding talent has been recruited by mainstream teams participating in the formal leagues.

He said some constituency sport tournament teams have also graduated and registered with the mainstream leagues.

The minister noted that eight players have graduated from the constituency tournaments to the premier league and that 10 have joined the National First Division.

He added that at least 175 players have joined various divisions of regional football leagues.

Gaborone North MP, Mr Haskins Nkaigwa had asked the minister to state the amount the government has spent on the constituency league since its inception.

He further asked the minister to state the value derived from the leagues, and how it has affected the BFA formal leagues. Ends