30 Jan 2024

As part of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) preparations, Botswana senior national women team, The Mares will have a training camp in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and United States of America.

However, The Mares’ training camps and other activities will not come cheap as the team needs over P10million.

It is therefore against this background that Botswana Football Association (BFA) CEO Mfolo Mfolo said during a press conference in Gaborone yesterday, that BFA had come up with an initiative dubbed ‘The Mares 2.0’ to raise funds for the team.

He said despite the team making it to WAFCON quarterfinal, preparations had been inadequate.

He said for team to surpass their peformance in their WAFCON particicpation in 2022, preparations had to be ‘top notch’.

“Late last year, the BFA president, Maclean Letshwiti addressed you here and talked about the P10 million that will be needed to prepare The Mares, our national football women’s team ahead of WAFCON.

We are about to embark on The Mares preparations that we estimate will cost us P10 million. BFA alone will not be able to fully meet the demands without assistance from Batswana,” he said.

He said all should play a role in raising funds for the team as The Mares’ success was for all Batswana.

“As BFA, we take preparations of our national teams very seriously, hence we invite the entire country to play a role as the Mares go into camp. The business community is especially invited to play a role.

It is through these preparations that the coaches get an idea on the true state of the teams under their management, “he said.

BFA head of marketing, Masego Busumane said they had planned a series of fundraising events to assist reach their objective.

The events range from football festival, cultural festival and a golf day.

She said a lot of money was needed to fully prepare the team to compete and make a lasting impression in Morocco.

She disclosed that over P5million was needed for the team’s three international training camps, over P3million for international friendly games and over P1 million for pre competition costs.

She said BFA was offering the business community a unique platform to align with the passion, pride and success of The Mares.

“We have a range of sponsorship packages featuring diverse pricing points designed to resonate with potential sponsors across various levels.

Each tier within our partner segments is structured to accommodate a range of interests, offering corresponding benefits that align with sponsorship rights,” she said.

She said they were looking for potential partners in areas such as logistics, insurance, medical cover, equipment, as well incentives or in kind support that aligns with the sponsoring company’s corporate social responsibility. ENDS