09 Feb 2025

The Ministry of Sports and Arts has embarked on a strategic partnership with the University of Botswana (UB) to harness the institution’s untapped resources in research, infrastructure, and talent development.

Speaking at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Minister of Sports and Arts, Jacob Kelebeng emphasised the urgent need to address youth unemployment and underutilised potential by creating opportunities in sports, media, and the arts. He highlighted that Botswana possessed one of the best High-Performance Centres at the university, yet continued to send athletes to South Africa for training.

The minister stressed that such resources should be fully utilised, not only to develop local athletes but also to attract international athletes to Botswana. He further pointed that research should guide decision-making in the sports and creative industries, as many current interventions lack depth and evidence-based support.

The partnership with UB, he noted, was expected to bridge this gap, leveraging its sports science, athlete testing, and media studies programmes to develop the next generation of athletes and creative professionals. The minister acknowledged that similar agreements had been signed in the past but had not been implemented effectively. However, he said that this time he would see to it that a technical team would be put in place to ensure the MoU translated into meaningful action.

University of Botswana vice chancellor, Professor David Norris shared the minister’s sentiments and emphasised the economic potential of sports and creative arts. He cited Nigeria’s film industry, which he said contributed an estimated $600 million (about P8.4 billion) annually to the economy, and India’s Bollywood, which added $1.5 billion (about P21 billion) to the GDP.  These figures, he said, demonstrated that with the right investment, Botswana’s creative industry could generate employment and economic growth.

Professor Norris reaffirmed UB’s readiness to support the initiative, highlighting the institution’s top-tier sports facilities and academic expertise. He noted that UB had a fully-fledged sports department led by experienced scholars as well as established programme in visual and performing arts, film production, and media studies.

By integrating these resources into national development efforts, he expressed confidence that Botswana could position itself as a leader in both sports and the creative economy.

Providing further insight into UB’s Sports and Arts programmess, Culture Sport and Recreation acting director, Dr Comfort Mokgothu outlined the university’s extensive research capabilities saying, Botswana’s underperformance in regional and global sports competitions underscored the need for greater institutional support.

UB he said had a team of experts specialising in sports psychology, medicine, physiology, and biomechanics, conducting research on athletic performance, injury prevention, and modern training methods. He also said the university boasted a high-Performance Centre, sports science labs, an Olympic-size swimming pool, an indoor track, a stadium, football and athletics fields, and indoor courts that had hosted major regional and continental tournaments.

Despite these resources, Dr Mokgothu noted that many required upgrading and questioned why Botswana continued to send athletes abroad for training when the same level of expertise existed within UB. He highlighted the university’s ongoing efforts in supporting national teams, including their current work with Botswana’s squad preparing for the WAFCON tournament.  ENDS