23 Oct 2022

Debswana Diamond Company, in collaboration with Botswana Boxing Association (BoBA) and Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC), has launched the fourth Re Ba Bona Ha Boxing Centre in Selebi Phikwe.Re Ba Bona Ha is a grassroots development programme targeting children aged between five and 15 years in various sporting codes.

This year, Debswana unveiled the P6 million sponsorshi, which will run over the next three years.

“We launched the P6m Re Ba Bona Ha sponsorship this year, which will benefit boxing and other sporting codes,” said Debswana’s corporate affairs manager, Louis Baseki, in Selebi Phikwe on Saturday.

Baseki said the sponsorship would assist the boxing association to take young boxers to camps as well as  attend to boxers needs during competitions. He said sport built character and confidence, therefore he urged coaches and parents to join hands in nurturing talent.

He also emphasised return for investment saying ‘we want to grow and produce many athletes who will feature prominently in international sporting circuits, join the professional ranks, and make a living through sport.’

Baseki also urged the aspiring young boxers to take their training seriously for them to grow and compete in elite competitions.

He said the sponsorship was also meant to empower female boxers. The BNSC board representative, Geoffrey Gare, thanked Debswana for empowering young athletes and coaches. He said through the company’s support, BNSC would be able to empower young athletes and coaches. Gare assured the company that the BNSC would ensure that sponsorship would be used wisely across various sporting codes.

For his part, BoBA president, Gilbert Khunwane, also thanked Debswana for its immense contribution to sport development. He said the company had established similar centres in Ghanzi, Lobatse and Molepolole, adding such would help produce quality boxers who would take the country to greater heights in the sporting arena. He said it took a lot of training, commitment and discipline to produce a good boxer. 

Khunwane said the Selebi Phikwe centre would be guided by coach Kemoitsholetse David.

Selebi Phikwe mayor, Lucas Modimana, urged the young players to make a career out of boxing. He said coaches could make this possible by imparting skills to the young boxers and empowering them to compete internationally.

He also encouraged BNSC to upgrade its coaches to a professional level. 

“We should guard against losing quality athletes,” he added. Ends