24 Nov 2022

BONA 2027 chairperson, Ashford Mamelodi, says they are running against time to produce a bid book showing what Botswana and Namibia intend to offer should they be given authority to host the Africa Cup of Nations.

Updating Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) during an annual general meeting in Gaborone on Wednesday, Mamelodi said the bid book was expected to package all the facilities that would be needed to host the magnificent event.

 He said the bid committee was awaiting the facilities audit report, which would serve as a guide to what would be needed to meet the CAF standards.

Mamelodi said the bid book should be finalised as soon as possible as it was the passport to bid for the CAF competition, adding he was inspired by Morocco, who compiled their bid book for 2025 competition in just one month.

 He highlighted that Botswana and Namibia, unlike Morocco, did not have readily available infrastructure that could be used in the bid book, therefore the facilities audit was essential as that would assist the committee to know which ones needed a few touch ups and which ones needed a total refurbishment.

 On other issues, Mamelodi said reasons to host the prestigious continental football event would enhance countries’ profile that can benefit businesses and tourism.

 He said proposed host venues in Botswana were Gaborone, Lobatse, Francistown and Maun while in Namibia it was Windhoek and Swakopmund.

 He said Botswana would be having a 60 per cent share of the bid while Namibia would have 40 per cent, meaning more games would be played in Botswana.

In her comments, Botswana Volleyball Association president, Tsoseletso Magang, wanted to know if the upgrading of stadia would encompass facilities for other sporting codes citing the National Stadium, which only catered for football and athletics.

She suggested that multipurpose halls be included in whatever developments that would be carried out so that other codes could benefit from hosting the 2027 CAF African Cup.

In response, Mamelodi said though he understood the frustration raised by Magang, it was unfortunate as the bid was clearly for a football event and most of the developments would be for football. Ends