21 Jun 2025

Beyond the fun and enjoyment that sport begets in spectators, it also inculcates in the general society important traits necessary for one to lead a purposeful and impactful life.
At a dinner held in his honour by the organisers of the Clash of Legends tournament in Francistown on Friday, President Advocate Duma Boko cited teamwork as one of the crucial lessons that can be drawn from a game a sport where, driven by the desire to achieve a common objective, individual players performed different roles to feed into the collective goal of winning.
Advocate Boko said the different roles that players played in the field of play for the ultimate goal of winning a game were also a reflection of how much society could achieve when individuals deployed their strengths towards a goal of common good.
“One of the things that sport inculcates is teamwork. In life we need to know our strengths and deploy those strengths as best as we can,” he said.
Fairness he said, was one other valuable trait that sport taught that many people lacked in life.
“It also teaches us something else that many people lack in life; a sense of fairness. So, if we can learn anything from sport, it is exactly this,” he said, stating that fairness taught and promoted respect for the rules of the game as well as for other participants of the game regardless of the roles they were playing.
Regarding the Clash of Legends tournament, Advocate Boko commended the organisers, the players and the sponsors for ensuring that football went beyond entertaining spectators.
He said it was encouraging that beyond the enjoyment borne out of the exploits of players on the field of play, with each edition, the tournament impacted the lives of beneficiaries of its proceeds in an even more special way.
He said the addition of two more countries, Namibia and Zimbabwe, to the initial two of Botswana and South Africa inspired hope that more countries from the region would be brought on board, thereby widening the net in terms of the number of individuals who would benefit from the proceeds of the tournament.
Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) chairperson Marumo Morule said the Clash of Legends tournament was in line with the BNSC mandate of using sport as a tool for development, cohesion and pride.
“BNSC’s mandate is to use sport as a tool for development, cohesion and pride, and the Clash of Legends is a shining example of that vision in motion,” he said.
Morule observed that with unity, collaboration and shared purpose, Southern Africa would be able to continue to grow sport within the region, not just for competition but for community, culture and for legacy.
Like President Boko, he commended the organisers, players and sponsors for their noble vision of ensuring that football continued to touch lives in even more impactful ways.
Bona Life chief executive officer Phatsimo Keakabetse said the insurance company had elected to rally behind the tournament in acknowledgement of its positive impact.
Further to that, she said to Bona Life football was more than just a sport, it was pure love as it fostered a sense of family and true friendship.
Francistown mayor Gaone Majere hailed the decision to host the tournament’s third edition in the second city, saying it breathed new life into the ailing local economy.
Ends