18 Mar 2025

Botswana National Sports Commision (BNSC) has unveiled 44th Botswana Sports Awards nominees with karate, chess and tennis leading the number of nominations.

The Sportswoman of the Year award will be contested by Lethabo Sekano of karate, Naledi Marape from chess and Oratile Nowe of athletics, while the Sportsman of the Year award will see Letsile Tebogo from athletics coming face-to-face with Ross Branch of motorsport and Karabo Motlhanka of cricket.

Losika Motswagole of karate, Malak Macheng of tennis and Natilie Banda of chess will tussle for the Junior Sportswoman of the Year award. In the Junior Sportsman of the Year category, there is Prince Ngwako of karate, Ernest Kumevu from athletics and Ntugamile Raguin of tennis.  Women kata senior team, cricket men’s national team and 4x400m men’s relay team will contest for the Team of the Year award.

Three formidable coaches, Podungwane Lesole of chess, Kebonyemodisa Mosimanyane of athletics and Ofentse Bakwadi of karate will fight for the Coach of the Year award.  A very tough competition is anticipated for the Umpire of the Year award where Dorothy Okatch of basketball, Emmanuel Kgaboetsile of badminton and Gaone Poane of tennis will slug it out. 

Sport Administrator of the Year award will be contested for by Moses Bantsi of athletics, Khoanyane Sello of judo, and Kudzani Motswagole of table tennis while the Non-Citizen of the Year award nominees are William Matike of judo and Sumod Damodar of cricket.

The National Sport Association of the Year nominees are the Botswana Swimming Sport Association, the Botswana Chess Federation and the Botswana Table Tennis Association.The awards ceremony will be held in Gaborone on April 5.

BNSC chairperson, Marumo Morule described the upcoming Botswana Sports Awards not just as an event, but also a platform to celebrate collective achievements and pave way for future generations of athletes.

“Let us commit to nurturing talent, supporting our sports programmes, and inspiring our youth to dream big,” he said.

He expressed commitment of the BNSC board to supporting athletes and promoting sports at all levels.

“We understand that our success relies on collaboration among government entities, sports associations, private sector partners, and most importantly, the community,” he said.=

Morule further said stakeholders could cultivate an environment where athletes could flourish through investment in training facilities, providing access to coaching and ensuring youth engagement in sports from an early age. ENDS