Tebogo addresses G7
26 Oct 2024
Botswana's Olympic gold medalist, Letsile Tebogo has called on African governments to invest in long-term sports development plans.
Speaking at the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Development in Italy recently, Tebogo said it was also important that governments encouraged the private sector in their respective countries to invest in sports development so that the sports sector could be able to contribute to the economy of the continent.
He further said there was also a need to train more coaches in Africa so that they could produce more athletes that could take up sports professionally, employ other African professionals in sports like physiotherapists and psychologists and plough back their money into developing our continent.
As a 2023 World Athletics Championships bronze and silver medalist as well as Paris 2024 Olympics Gold medalist, he said he achieved all having been developed in Africa, trained in Africa by an African coach, who also did his coaching training in Africa.
“Even though, we were able to achieve all this, it was with very little resources and substandard facilities compared to some of my competitors from developed countries,” he said.
Tebogo said he was of the view that good results could be achieved from anywhere in the world without having to move athletes to developed countries.
He said if African athletes and coaches could be given enough resources and good facilities, they could produce even better results and reduce the rate of unemployment in their countries.
Meanwhile, according to Rosa Association Management, Tebogo was invited by the Italian Government - Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, and the Minister for Sport and Youth, Dr. Andrea Abodi. ENDS
Source : BOPA
Author : Anastacia Sibanda
Location : Gaborone
Event : meeting
Date : 26 Oct 2024
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