02 Jul 2019

This year’s edition of Mmathethe Sports Festival has attracted 15 villages to take part in different games compared to when it started in 2015.

The tournament will be held from July13-15. 

Speaking at Mmathethe Sports Festival 2019 edition mega launch recently, Botswana Stock Exchange chief executive officer Thapelo Tsheole said the tournament, which started with only one sport code being football, would now include various codes such as cycling, snooker, netball, football and marathon.

Tsheole said the tournament created a platform to develop sport, mentor youth on issues of social responsibility and health, while it also presented an opportunity for businesses to thrive with the intention to change the economic landscape of participating villages.

He shared that such a sport festival unearthed and nurtured talent and gave youth an opportunity to become future world stars. 

He added that it also acted as a support structure to Botswana Football Association, Botswana Athletics Association and Botswana Netball Association, among others.

He said the importance of the tournament could not be overemphasised as it presented an opportunity for the District Health Management Team that would be on the ground to test for various ailments and provide information on a healthy lifestyle.

Tsheole explained that globalisation through sport was an unstoppable process, by which participants, administrators and  fans were subject to forces of the global economy operating beyond the regulatory reach of nations. 

He further added that sport had no boundaries as it cuts across cultures and beliefs thus bringing different people together and uniting nations.

He was of the view that sport presented an opportunity for cultural exchange as there was global migration of players, coaches and fans in pursuit of pleasure and job opportunities consequently promoting sport tourism.

He encouraged teams in the elite league to scout for talent at the festival for the country to have a pool of players.

He commended organisers of the tournament for playing an active role in unearthing and nurturing talent adding that other villages should borrow a leaf from Mmathethe Sports Festival.

For his part, Mmathethe Sports Festival organising committee chairperson, Marshlow Motlogelwa said the main purpose of the event was to unite participating villages thus contributing to nation-building.

He said they also intended to create opportunities for young stars.

He said next year, they would add horse racing and darts to increase the ambiance of the tournament, adding that amenities for horse racing had been availed. Ends