13 Feb 2022

A six-member delegation from Botswana and Namibia has concluded its mission to Cameroon.

The team, led by Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Tumiso Rakgare and Namibia’s Deputy Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service, Emma Kantema-Goames, was on a mission to solicit information on bidding for and hosting the African Cup of Nations.

The delegation arrived in Cameroon towards end of the recent AFCON.

It met key stakeholders within the African and world football fraternities.

The trip followed Botswana’s desire to host 2027 AFCON with Namibia.

Botswana National Sports Commission (BNDC) chief executive officer, Tuelo Serufho who was part of delegation said the idea to host AFCON was in line with Botswana’s aspiration to graduate from a middle to a high-income economy.

He said another idea was to make Botswana cities safe and clean, achieve tourism diversity and reap the demographic dividend of the country’s youthful population among other things as contemplated through in Vision 2036.

“With sport having been identified as a key driver to some of the Vision 2036 objectives, AFCON has been determined to present unique opportunities to host countries in terms of economic stimulation, infrastructure development, country promotion and employment creation among other things. That is why we are desirous to host it”, he said.

According to Serufho, Botswana had been in touch with Namibia to consider the possibility of jointly bidding for and if successful, co-hosting the AFCON in 2027.

He said although Namibia was yet to pronounce its official position, it had well received the idea to the extent that their officials had started doing some preliminary work with their counterparts in Botswana, the recent trip to Cameroon being an example of how seriously the concept was being taken.

Serufho said while in Cameroon, Botswana and Namibia delegates had the opportunity to hold meetings and exchanges with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, CAF leadership, executives of the current and prospective CAF sponsors, members of the local organising committee as well as some African football luminaries.

“The overarching objective of the mission was to enhance our appreciation of the AFCON, network extensively and amplify the chances of the contemplated Botswana and Namibia bid,” he said.

The CEO said not only had they acquired the necessary contacts to ease engagement efforts, they also had the opportunity to experience the tournament first hand and paid attention to both the subtle but important features such as the visitor experience, security, hospitality and transport logistics in addition to tangible aspects such as road and stadia infrastructure, hotels and airports.

Furthermore, he said while he had always had the conviction that Botswana had the wherewithal to pull off a competition of the AFCON magnitude, he was more convinced given that the idea was to co-host with a neighbouring country.

For his part, Namibia Sport Commission chief administrator, Simata Francis Mwiya who was also a part of the delegation to Cameroon stated that they were thrilled by the fact that in looking for a partner to co-host, Botswana went no further than its neighbour with which it shared a rich history.

“Not only are we and Botswana similar in terms of population size and economic performance, we also enjoy great fraternal relations, with many Namibians having family in Botswana,” Mwiya said.

He said they were engaging authorities in Namibia, including government and were optimistic that they would positively consider the overture by their Botswana counterparts, to jointly bid and if successful, co-host the AFCON in 2027.

The Total Energies 2021 AFCON in Cameroon was broadcast in more than 150 countries and had an estimated cumulative television viewership of over six billion people.

Other delegates of the Botswana and Namibia mission were MYSC deputy permanent secretary, Bruno Paledi, Botswana Football Association president, MacLean Letshwiti and private secretary to the Namibian minister in charge of sport, Ricardo Mathias Gaogoseb. ENDS