26 Jan 2022

Botswana Boxing Association (BOBA) and Botswana Tertiary Student Sport Association (BOTESSA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to grow boxing.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Gaborone on Tuesday, BOBA secretary, Taolo Tlouetsile, expressed delight that they had finally signed an MoU following three-year discussions.

He said BOTESSA had been hosting competitions including major games such as  Confederation of University and College Sports Association (CUCSA) without boxing.

Tlouetsile said it was important for boxing to be included in the BOTESSA structures, adding that they had agreed on a number of things.“You will recall that we are just starting the new Olympic cycle and I believe we will be in a position to reap from this MoU,” he said.BOTESSA vice president technical, Tebogo Kgari, said they were also happy that the two parties had now signed a contract.

He said BOTESSA could not run boxing on its own because it did not have rights to do so since it had not affiliated to boxing bodies.

He, therefore, said it was important to partner with BOBA to learn.“We are a group code that runs karate, netball, football and athletics, but we need associations to adhere to world standards rules and regulations,” he said.

On other issues, Kgari said the country had a lot of underutilised resources due to lack of cohesion and failure to work together.

He said it was important that stakeholders work together for the betterment of sport.ENDS