07 Oct 2026

The Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) is working around the clock to establish a Local Organising Committee (LOC) and a skeletal secretariat to ensure the successful delivery of the 2028 African Senior Championships.

Botswana secured the hosting rights for the 2028 edition and BAA acting president, Oabona Theetso, said in an interview that the upcoming Ordinary General Assembly (OGM), to be held in Palapye on October 24, would serve as the launchpad to map out the LOC’s structure.“For the African Championships, we want everyone to be involved. This bid was won by Batswana for Botswana,” Theetso said.

In that regard, he emphasised the importance of remaining strategic when assembling the LOC and drawing valuable lessons from the World Athletics Relays. 

He said the skeletal secretariat would be tasked with aggressively pursuing event sponsors, as hosting an event of such magnitude required substantial financial backing.

Following the successful delivery of the World Athletics Relays, Theetso noted that the nation’s expectations had never been higher.

“I think the World Relays will always be used as a baseline, but if you look at the stature of the World Relays versus the African Senior Championships, one is a global stage while the other is continental,” he added.

He acknowledged that the conditions and qualification standards would differ between the two competitions.

However, he assured that the association would not drop the ball simply because they were hosting a continental showcase.

The event falls during a critical 2028 athletics calendar that also features the Los Angeles Olympic Games and the newly introduced World Athletics Ultimate Championship.

Consequently, Theetso stressed that the onus was now on all relevant stakeholders to organise a memorable event that would enable both local and international athletes to clock peak qualification times for the major global tournaments.  ENDS