22 Jan 2026

Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA) has commenced preparations for the World Table Tennis (WTT) Youth Contender scheduled for November 11 to 14, this year. This follows an approval by Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) to host the event. BTTA marketing and public relations officer, Tshegofatso Malepa said preparations for the tournament were officially underway, with BTTA set to announce Local Organising Committee (LOC) in the near future. She said engagements with key stakeholders had already commenced as the association intensified planning efforts ahead of the event.
“BTTA is also calling on corporate sponsors and strategic partners to come on board and support the hosting of the WTT Youth Contender. This tournament is a valuable platform for brand visibility at both
local and international level, while directly contributing to youth sport development in Botswana,” she said. Malepa said the WTT Youth Contender was expected to play a crucial role in preparing Botswana’s junior athletes for the Region V Games, providing them with competitive match experience against elite youth players from across the world.
“BTTA reaffirms its commitment to hosting a well-organised, internationally compliant event that supports athlete development, strengthens administrative capacity, and advances the growth of table tennis in Botswana,” she said.
As part of the preparations, BTTA will over the weekend start the process of selecting a national youth team, dubbed Diteemane to represent the country at the games. Malepa said the selection process would simultaneously take place at three venues being Babusi Hall in Gaborone, Mabeleapodi Junior Secondary School in Mabeleapodi and Delta Waters International School in Maun.
She said the selection process was aimed at expanding their reach to all corners of the country and ensuring greater inclusivity by giving more junior players from different regions an opportunity to be assessed.
She said at each selection venue, three top players from each gender would advance to a final selection phase, to be held at a later date, where the final BTTA youth national team would be confirmed.
Malepa emphasised that the decentralised selection approach was part of BTTA’s broader development strategy to identify and nurture young talent nationwide while ensuring fair access to national team opportunities for juniors regardless of location.
She said hosting an international and world class event signaled the country’s growing capacity to host the global table tennis community and the capacity to host sporting events of such magnitude. BTTA president, Kudzanani Motswagole said hosting the WTT Youth Contender was a significant step in their long-term development strategy. “This event gives our young athletes exposure to high-level international competition while also positioning Botswana as a credible destination for major table tennis tournaments. We are appealing to sponsors to partner with us in delivering a successful and impactful event,” said Motswagole. ENDS