29 Jan 2013

Botswana aims to become a continental powerhouse in sport.

Deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Youth Sport and Culture, Jefferson Siamisang said this when officially closing the first ever Advanced Sport Management Course in Gaborone on January 27.

Mr Siamisang said the country was on a mission to produce competitive athletes at all levels and planned on hosting major sports events as well as develop qualified officials and coaches.

However, Siamisang said all of these lofty goals could not be achieved without motivated and well trained sport administrators, hence the course.

"Sports administrators will thus be our beacon of hope moving forward", he said. Through them, he said, the country could hope that challenges currently bedeviling sports in Botswana, such as poor governance would become a thing of the past.

He urged the course attendants to put to practice knowledge acquired during the training. "Share it with others, such that we may reap multiplied benefits from our investment in yourself," he said.

By so doing, they would be contributing to the vision 2016 pillar of a united and proud nation as well as that of a healthy and knowledgeable nation. The training was delivered over seven weekends during which course participants had to do some case studies before concluding with a final project.

Out of the 20 participants who started with the course, only 11 completed. The Botswana National Olympic Committee facilitated the course while the Olympic Solidarity financed it. ENDS