19 Jun 2024

Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture has secured P55 million that will go towards the long-awaited sport in schools programme expected to resume before the end of the current school term.

Minister Tumiso Rakgare revealed this when addressing members of the media at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport on Tuesday, prior to the departure of athletes who will be competing at the 23rd CAA Africa Senior Championships in Doula, Cameroon.

“Cabinet has approved P55 million and the ministry has since engaged with relevant stakeholders,” he said.

However, he explained that the P55 million was reached through concerted efforts in a bid to come up with a holistic approach to programme hence finding ways of increasing the initial P24 million they were allocated for the first time in the history.

He said from the P55 million, P37 million had been offered as incentives to those participating in the programme.

“If you recall well, the budget for running  sport in schools under the ministry of education, was only P3 million but the sport ministry that is now mandated to run the prgramme, advocated for an increase,” he said.  

Minister Rakgare said they would reveal a new name for the programme in the next few days, adding that had his ministry been the only one involved,  the programme could have long started.

“There are many stakeholders involved hence the delay, but we will continue trying because the most important thing is to see good results from this programme,” he said.

Furthermore, he said they were aware that some students were not academically gifted but excelled in sports, and that needed to be considered.

“Nowadays, sports is not ordinary, most athletes survive through sports, so there is need to catch them young,” he said.

Meanwhile, Botswana Netball Association spokesperson Stanley Modibedi said introducing sports in schools would also contribute towards growth of the association as they would be tasked with identifying talent and its development.

“It will also establish a clear pathway from sports in schools to professional leagues, which can enhance the development of netball players,” he said.

He said  integrating netball into the school curriculum would also lead to increased participation, thereby helping to grow the sport at the grassroots level.

When discussing a diverse talent pool, he said a broader base of participants could lead to the discovery of more talented pool of players.

Furthermore, Modibedi said engaging schools in netball could foster community support and enthusiasm for the sport.

“Overall, integrating netball into sport in schools can significantly strengthen the sport in Botswana by building a solid foundation of young talent, improving overall standards, and ensuring a sustainable future for netball in the country,” he said.

For his part, Botswana Football Association representative Tshepo Mphukuthi said it was a welcome development and exciting news for their federation.

Sport in schools, he said, would help them reach areas where football was not common and unearth talents from those areas.

For instance, he said they covered as far as Tsabong in their western region, but with sport in schools, they could reach areas such as Middlepits and Struizendam.

“If you look at the Okavango area, the Etsha side is not well covered. In the North East, Nata is also not well covered, but that is where we get a lot of good players, so sport in schools will help us with robust development,” he said. Ends