22 Oct 2025

The World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 organisers are looking to use the annual Lefika Relays as trials for the prestigious event to be held in Botswana in May next year.

In an interview, the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 chief executive officer, Moses Bantsi, said using the Lefika Relays as a crucial dry run would however, depend on the availability of funds.

Bantsi said they were actively seeking a major sponsor to elevate the Lefika Relays into an African Relays event.

“If we could get a sponsor, we would want to give Africa an opportunity to come and compete. The idea is to allow international athletes a chance to have a feel of both the country, our hospitality, and the track,” he said.

He added that they would ideally host the expanded event just before the World Relays qualification deadline to offer athletes a last chance to qualify in Botswana.

“It is therefore important that a sponsor comes early so that we can fully prepare for the Lefika Relays,” he urged.

Bantsi also noted that the annual Grand Prix would play a key role in preparations. He said although recently downgraded to a silver-level event, the organising committee’s intention was to push it back to gold.

He indicated that by hosting the Grand Prix just a few days before the World Relays, they anticipated attracting top athletes competing at the main event.

“Attracting top athletes to the Grand Prix will be advantageous because World Athletics will be monitoring the organisation of the event and once they are satisfied, it will be elevated to gold,” he explained.

He further said with more than 60 countries expected for the World Relays, the local events would be vital to gauge Botswana’s readiness to host the global competition.

Bantsi also highlighted the four-part vision behind hosting the World Relays Gaborone 26, which included celebrating Botswana’s 60^th anniversary, positioning the event as a core part of the national celebrations and promoting tourism to attract visitors not only during the event but encouraging long-term tourism flow.

He said the vision also included boosting the national profile and provide a plaform for Botswana to market itself and educate the world about its natural diamonds, particularlyb as the sector faced competition from artificial diamonds. BOPA