13 Dec 2022

Parents are valuable to the development of sport.

And their involvement will help fight against use of drugs, which can be a hindrance to sport growth, said Assistant Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Buti Billy, on Monday when welcoming a team from the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Games in Malawi. 

The assistant minister also expressed his gratitude to coaches and sport administrators, saying they too were instrumental in shaping the youth.

Billy implored athletes to introspect and prepare for the coming major events in advance.

Regarding performance at the recent Region 5 games, the assistant minister said the absence of school sport had affected results.

However, he applauded the team for doing its best.

He said government was considering the school and out of school sport programme in 2023.

For her part, Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) vice chairperson, Tebogo Lebotse-Sebego, commended athletes for representing the country well.

She said BNSC used the AUSC Region 5 games to monitor athletes with less focus on medals.

BNSC sent a team of 140 athletes from eight codes to the AUSC Region 5 Games.

The team finished in fourth position and brought home 47 medals; 12 gold, 22 silver and 13 bronze. ENDs