30 Mar 2017

Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) chairperson Solly Reikeletseng said 2017 Netball World Youth Cup(NWYC) local Organising Committee is ready to host the tournament in July.
Botswana will host the event in three months and 20 countries will compete in the tournament.  Botswana is in Pool C with Jamaica, Cook Island, Malaysia and Uganda.

Speaking at the Department of Broadcasting Services, television division and 2017 Netball World Youth Cup (NWYC) partnership launch, Reikeletseng said Botswana was going to deliver a world class event.
He said the country had picked a team that they believed would drive the process, adding that at secretariat level they also had shrewd administrators who had vowed to deliver the games.

BNSC vision 2028,he said  talked about events hosting as well as hosting the world which was one of their key indicators, adding that Botswana would also host world softball/baseball conference.
He said their partnership with BTV would go a long way in promoting sport, as their key indicators as BNSC was also sport development.
Reikeletseng said the other important thing about the partnership was that it was a platform to project their sponsors, given that they were still looking for more sponsors to come on board.
“One of the things we have to closely look at is what kind of legacy we want to leave with this relationship,” he said.

He said since Botswana would be hosting major events, it was imperative for stakeholders to build capacity for Botswana Television so that they were able to carry out the events and broadcast without external support.
“We made mistakes in the past, and we don't have to be shy to speak about the mistakes we made. We went out and put in a lot of money on international broadcasters just to come here and package the games. If we had not gone that route we would have built so much capacity for our people to strive,” he said.

BTV acting general manager Vuza Ziga said they would produce 70 games of the tournament and all nine Team Botswana games would be televised live.
He said for the first time BTV had recently received their first Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) vehicle, and they would produce the event in High Definition (HD).
Furthermore, he said the partnership was also a good opportunity for business community to come on board to sponsor and advertise given the anticipated audience. ENDS