07 Apr 2021

Botswana Tertiary Students Sports Association (BOTESSA) and Botswana Karate Association (BOKA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop karate in universities and colleges.

Speaking during a signing ceremony in Gaborone on Tuesday, BOTESSA president, Keorapetse Setlhare, said their common interest in sports development motivated the duo to work together.  

Setlhare highlighted that BOTESSA had been faced with challenges such as lack of equipment and qualified officials, which hindered karate developmentg.

Signing of the MoU, he said, was a huge development because it would contribute to a number of areas such as harmonising both parties’ development programmes to ensure coordinated and effective implementation.

He indicated that the partnership would assist in jointly planning for optimal utilizstion of resources and grooming of young players as well as strengthening relations with each other and other stakeholders.

For his part, BOKA president, Tshepo Bathai, said in the past, there was no coordination between BOTESSA and BOKA, which made it difficult for karate to grow, adding that they were hoping for the partnership to rectify that.

He said it was vital for karate to be developed at tertiary institutions since upon completion of their studies, students would undertake jobs in different areas, providing an opportunity for karate to develop in those particular areas.

“They would train other people in those places, hence attracting a lot of players to the game and ultimately growing it,” he said.

Through the partnership, Bathai said, the developed coaches, instructors and administrators would go a long way in growing karate.

He highlighted that the BOKA Academy would soon be launched and would be offering a lot of different courses, noting that they were hoping for BOTESSA to assist with resources such as lecturers.

This partnership, he said, provided development path way, noting that players at different tertiary institutions would have the necessary information on what was needed to compete on the international stage.

Bathai indicated that BOKA would be responsible for the technical implementation of the agreement, hence tournaments would be run according to World Karate Federation code, adding that the officials would be certified by BOKA.

He said a strategy would be formulated to ensure that national team selection included BOTESSA players, adding that a slot was also reserved in the technical commission for a BOTESSA representative in an effort to contribute in decision making. ENDS