12 Feb 2023

A new stadium will built in Maun should Botswana and Namibia win a joint bid to host the 2027 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.

A North West District Council official, Bakang Malebo, told the bid secretariat that the stadium would be built at Boseja ward.

He said the stadium would be built in an area measuring 15 hectares and that it was about 15 kilometres from the central business district, adding it was close to facilities such as hospitals and hotels. The proposed stadium, he said, was also adjacent to a tarred road.

The secretariat team was in Maun to audit essential facilities needed for the country to host AFCON.

 Maun has been proposed as one of the four host sites for the tournament alongside Gaborone, Francistown and Lobatse.

Malebo also briefed the team about the current Maun Sports Complex, saying it measured nine hectares and was close to the CBD and health facilities.

He noted that it had the capacity to accommodate 6 000 spectators and that it had facilities for other sporting codes.

He said they had proposed that the sports complex could also be used as a training ground for participating countries.

He also said the seating capacity of the stadium could be increased to accommodate about 15 000 people.

A Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) officer, Kealeboga Kiki explained that the sports complex was officially opened in 2003 and that it had 447 seats in the grand stand.  

The facility, he said, also had no big screens and that the public address (PA) system was not functioning.

The head of the BONA 2027 secretariat team, Geoffrey Gare, explained that the facilities audit exercise was intended to assess the ability of existing facilities as part of their bid.  ENDS