29 Nov 2020

Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) chairperson, Marumo Morule, has challenged Botswana Softball Association (BSA) to reclaim its position in the country’s sports industry.

 “You should ensure that your sport does not only get back to full  action but remains  as  thrilling as  it  was in the past, notwithstanding that you may have made some adaptations”, he said during BSA annual general meeting in Gaborone on November 28.

He said despite COVID-19, BSA should remain hopeful that things could turn out for the better in the near future.

Morule said COVID-19 pandemic had not been used as an excuse to slack on good governance as shown by the association’s innovativeness to hold the general assembly amid the challenges. 

He said acceptance by BSA to hold the general meeting in this manner is the very first step towards adapting to change.

“We may never go back to the normal that we have always known, but may have to contend with the new one through adaptation and creativeness”, he said.

He said adaptation could only be possible by working together as a team across all the structures of the association for the good of Softball.

Morule observed that it was through harmony that BSA had managed to retain sponsors despite the pandemic induced inactivity.

He congratulated BSA on the ongoing improvements at the national diamond adding that the field should match the international standards to give teams a fair chance at international games.

Morule also commended the Softball fraternity for   

having ensured that there was a good representation of women on the National   Executive Committee (NEC).

“I call upon the NEC to ensure that a Softball Women’s Commission is established as a matter of urgency”, he said.

For his part, BSA president Thabo Thamane said the ever-increasing sporting codes pressurized the BNSC financially.  

 He said this was worsened by the fact that COVID-19 obliterated the government coffers which remained the sole largest funder of sports in the country.

Thamane said they had a big league at BSA adding that they have struggled over the last two years to split the league primarily out of fear of losing talent due to lack of sponsorship for another league bracket.

“We are cognizant of the fact that BNSC does not fund the leagues but we believe that this must be looked into”, he said. 

Thamane decried that softball was very expensive on its own and clubs struggled to procure basic equipment because of that.

The meeting which was conducted virtually was adjourned due to a technical problem and a new date of the special meeting will be communicated. Ends