17 Apr 2016

Vice President, Mokgweetsi Masisi has appealed to individuals and the private sector to sponsor sports teams at grass root level.

Speaking during  the prize giving ceremony of Mega Mega tournament on Saturday, Masisi said sponsors could help build and nurture talent at grass root level by sponsoring the teams through the provision of transport, kit and other needed items.

He said government alone could not afford to finance all teams but sponsorship from the private sector and individuals could  take sports in the country to greater heights.

Masisi also called on parents to allow their children to participate in sports and commended the parents who were already doing that.

Masisi implored the young players of Mega Mega teams to be committed to sports and take advantage of the opportunity they have.He said teams such as those of Mega Mega were doing a commendable job as they help keep children away from roaming the streets and engaging in social ills.

Francistown East MP, Buti Billy encouraged the young players to take football seriously as they had the potential to become future stars and even turning sport into their career.

He said children these days were  fortunate because parents understand the importance of sports.

Billy said as government, they understand their role of providing a conducive environment for sports development through availing the right infrastructure hence the Francistown Sports Complex.

He said he would continue to lobby  government to develop other sports grounds in Francistown by utilising waste water from Mambo Treatment to plant lawn.

He said by giving young players opportunity to play on the lawn they would be preparing them to play at national and international levels. A Botswana Football Association (BFA) official, Ikgopoleng Jonas commended the organisers of the tournament for nurturing talent at grass root level.

Jonas said such tournament do not only nurture talent but also instill discipline in young players. He appealed to other organisers who had the same initiative to register with BFA regional structures for coordination.

He said from the tournament, six players were selected to participate in Gaborone for the national under 17 talent unearthing. Mega Mega is made up of eight teams, of which six were Francistown based, one from Mathangwane and one from Nswazwi.

The gold medal winners was Eleven Angels Football Club, while silver and bronze medals were won by Lephiri Sporting Club and Same Ages Football Club respectively.

In an interview, one of the organisers, Masego Mbaiwa said Mega Mega was started last year with eight teams of players under 15 years. She said the objective was to keep children away from the streets and at the same time developing their skills and talents. ENDS