NSAs’ 2022 highs and lows
Calistus Kolantsho - Kabelo Boranabi | Saturday December 24, 2022 06:00
Football highsThey had little to no fanfare ahead of their 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) finals but returned home as heroines.
The Mares, earlier this year, reached the WAFCON finals held in Morocco for the first time in history.
The team did not have satisfactory preparation as they failed to challenge themselves against top opponents ahead of the start of the tournament with some of the scheduled friendly matches cancelled at the last hour.
However, coach Gaolethoo ‘Ronaldo’ Nkutwlisang’s girls proved that they deserved a place amongst the top 12 teams in the continent. A 4-2 win over fellow debutants Burundi in the opening match attracted attention.
Then followed defeats to heavyweights Nigeria and South Africa but the Mares squeezed through to the quarterfinals where they lost to Morocco in what was also a bid for the 2023 World Cup slots. The Mares went on to lose in the World Cup playoff places match against Cameroon but put the best performance by a national team in a continental tournament.
Premier League side, Gaborone United (GU) lived up to their tagline in the 2021-2022 season campaign and truly the Reds rose. GU dominated the local scenes this year winning all the competitions on offer.
First came a Season 2 Orange FA Cup triumph. Followed the first Premier League title since 2009 then another Orange FA Cup win, the Season 3 edition. The team has 32 wins across all competitions. GU recorded just seven draws and lost twice this year. The defeats came at the hands of city rivals, Township Rollers and AS Vita in the CAF Champions League.
The Reds played Masitaoka in their last game of the year just after press time and won 2-0.
The Atlas Lions against all odds reached the semi-finals of the just-ended 2022 World Cup. Morocco became the first ever African team to reach the top four stage, outperforming the 2002 Senegal team and the 2010 Ghana squad. Morocco, along the way, beat heavyweights such as the Netherlands and Spain en route to the tournament’s last four encounters. The Atlas Lions finished fourth with the best defensive record after conceding just four goals in the tournament.
Football lows
Yet again, several players’ moves abroad ended prematurely this year. The highlight was Mares’ duo Refilwe ‘Seven’ Tholakele and Kesegofetse ‘Odinga’ Mochawe. The duo was signed by Equatorial Guinea’s side, Malabo Kings but has since returned home, a pattern past seen in local players. The players bemoaned poor conditions for their short stint. Thabang Sesinyi finished as the leading goal scorer and was tipped to move to a Qatari club but the move did not materialise.
The forward did not make enough CAF Champions League appearances to allow him to play in the Qatari league. Also, the Zebras’ low FIFA rankings impeded the proposed move. Mothusi Cooper also returned home after a stint with Morocco’s MC Oujda while Sekhukhune FC rejected Lebogang Ditsele in the South African elite league.
The Botswana Football League (BFL) is still struggling to secure sponsorship in its second year of existence. The previous season was played without a title sponsorship. There were talks of local brewer, Kgalagadi Breweries Limited coming on board but the deal fell through. This season was rescued by a late P23 million from the national broadcaster’s Department of Broadcasting Services (DBS). The BFL has lost sponsorships from Absa Botswana and BTC (Botswana Telecommunications Corporation) amongst others.
The league is once again played without a title sponsor, as clubs do not get the monthly grant. At least the authorities have promised prize monies at the end of the campaign. For the past decade, the local football fraternity has lost some of its promising talents. In the last quarter of the year, the game lost two lives. Former Zebras and Orapa United fullback, Lesenya Ramoraka passed on in September after being involved in a terrible car accident at the age of 28. The defender had just less than a year since he returned from Highlands Park in South Africa.
He became a sporadic player in the Orapa United squad until the time of his death. The game also lost URI Black Forest winger, Joseph ‘Stux’ Raboso in November. The winger was just 20 years when he met his death as a promising talent in the Forest setup. Despite the Mares’ heroic run at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, it has been another sour year for other national football teams.
The senior men’s team, the Zebras were eliminated from the CHAN qualifiers in the second round by Madagascar. The team also had a poor showing at the 2022 COSAFA Cup failing to get out of the group stages and going on to lose the plate final to South Africa. The Young Zebras were also knocked out of the 2024 Olympic qualifiers by Eswatini.
The junior Mares were hammered by Tanzania as they bowed out of the World Cup qualifiers.
Local football was once again hit by endless boardroom wrangles triggered by the registration of Township Rollers wingback, Onkarabile Ratanang. The issue dragged on for almost a year. The matter divided the local football fraternity and put some of its activities at a standstill. Ratanang was adjudged to be a defaulter after he was registered outside the transfer window period. Three officials from Rollers including the former Botswana Football Association’s (BFA) competitions manager, Setete Phutego were suspended from the game. The Rollers officials’ suspension was lifted but Phuthego remains away from the game. Rollers were found guilty and fined P15,000.
Athletics highs
The Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) secured a P9 million sponsorship from Debswana. Sprint sensation, Letsile Tebogo recorded a World Under-20 record in 100m and he was nominated for the World Athletics award under the Rising Star category. He also defended his title at the Junior World Championships. Bayapo Ndori reached the final at the 2022 Oregon World Championships.
The mixed relay team reached the final at the Junior World Championships. The AUSC Region 5 Games team had the best competition, scooping five gold, eight silver and eight bronze medals, producing a personal best in the process.
Athletics lows
Botswana’s medal prospects were reduced when 800m runner, Nijel Amos was provisionally suspended ahead of the World Athletics after testing positive for a banned metabolite. Thalosang Tshireletso was also suspended after testing positive for a banned substance. The athletics team had a poor showing at the Commonwealth Games scooping a silver medal in the men’s 4x400m relay team. The women’s team failed to qualify for the World Championships. Some titles were also lost at the World Juniors.
BOTESSA highs
The long-awaited merger between the Botswana Brigades Sports Association (BOBSA) and the Botswana Tertiary Student Sports Association (BOTESSA) finally took place with Keorapetse Setlhare elected as president. BOTESSA (Botswana Tertiary Student Sports Association) renewed the FNB Botswana sponsorship for two years worth P2 million. The association sent a team to the CUCSA Games where they won seven gold medals, two silver and five bronze medals. The team made history by finishing in the second position behind South Africa, an improvement from the third position from the previous edition when the games were hosted in Botswana. BOTESSA hosted their first edition of a marathon in Maun. The code went further to win an award for the most resilient NSA during the Botswana Sports Awards.
BOTESSA rugby women’s team won a bronze medal in the University Sport South Africa (USSA) tournament. The women’s team won a gold medal during the USSA football championship and FNB Botswana awarded the players with a P50,000 incentive.
BOTESSA lows
The merger took longer than anticipated after the task force delayed concluding the new constitution.
Karate highs
The national team brought home a gold medal (women’s team kata), bronze (men’s team kata) and another gold in individual kata at the Commonwealth Karate Championships.
Karate lows
The team brought a silver medal from UFAK (Union of African Karate Federations), which was a poor performance compared to the last edition of the same competition. The karate executive committee was toppled from office in absentia. While the committee was busy with an event in Jwaneng, a motion of no confidence was passed against them. An interim committee took over with elections set for January. George Tshikare was slapped with a suspension by Kofukan and resigned.
BISA highs
BISA (Botswana Integrated Sports Association) vice secretary-general, Oreeditse Marakakgoro was appointed chef de mission of the Paris 2024 Olympics team while the publicity secretary was appointed COSSASA secretary-general and the national organiser of badminton was appointed tournament director for Botswana Badminton Association. The national organiser of tennis was appointed tournament director at the AUSC Region 5 Games that were held in Malawi.
BISA lows
The Ministry of Education and Skills Development withdrew its commitment to BISA activities. School sport remained suspended. The future is uncertain for BISA and funding was reduced due to a lack of activities.
Tennis highs
Tennis women played in the Billie Jean Cup after 14 years missing from this world event. Denzel Seetso and Ekua Refilwe Youri reached career-high rankings on the international stage and were nominated Sports Man and Woman at the Botswana Sports Awards. The Tennis Association received four nominations during the Botswana Sports Awards. The association launched wheelchair tennis and they were able to host one ITF Level 1 coaching course without the Olympic Solidarity. Tennis hosted four weeks of international tennis tournaments bringing an average of 70 players.
Tennis lows
Tennis struggled to get corporate sponsorship despite hosting four international tournaments that generated a lot of revenue.
Table Tennis highs
In a setting where there are limited cash avenues in local sport, table tennis has emerged among the few rewarding options. The Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA) had an increased record of competitions this year. For all these tournaments, the overall prize money is just over P60,000 for a year, making it an average of P5,000 per month. This is over the average P2,000 a local league footballer earns per month. Ping-pong this year became an alternative sporting cash cow. The BTTA has also exported just over 10 players to India under the Indian High Commission scholarship. The sport has proven the mettle to host a big tournament with the annual Botswana Open held in November. The association focused robustly on grassroots development. So far they have launched Re Ba Bona Ha centres in Mabeleapudi and Bontleng. Remote areas table tennis has been introduced in Xanagas, Kuke, Dakar, New Xade, Kareng and Nata.
Table tennis staged the BTTA league through a partnership with Phoenix Assurance Botswana and Stag International.
Tshepiso Rebatenne won seven of nine local tournaments and the BTTA league. Tshenolo Mooketsi won six of nine local tournaments. Reneilwe Lekorwe obtained a silver medal in the Under-12 boys’ singles. Rebatenne obtained bronze in the Gauteng Open. She also won a silver medal in the women’s doubles at the Botswana Open.
Table Tennis lows
Table tennis failed to send four players who qualified for Senior Africa Championships.
MotoSport lows
Since that 2019 best Rookie award at the Dakar Rally, top local rider, Ross Branch has struggled to live up to expectations with few highs to write home about. The biker has once again had a tough time on the bike this year. It all started with the esteemed Dakar Rally in January. Branch could not complete the race, now for the third year running. His year highlight was when he became on Indian manufacturer Hero Motorsport’s marquee signings. The biker’s eyes were not set on the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. However, he went on to finish 13th as he ends this season without a major title. Branch will be seeking redemption in the 2023 Dakar Rally that is to start on December 31 and end on January 15, 2023.
Lawn Bowls highs
The association hosted all events on the 2022 calendar with support from the private sector. Lawn bowls put Botswana on the map at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the women’s Fours team reached the quarterfinals for the first time. Great performance by Marea Modutlwa at the 2022 World Bowls Singles Champion of Champions tournament in Wellington, New Zealand, reaching the quarterfinals and qualifying in one of the top six positions, the best by a Botswana representative. Tshenolo Moshokgo dominated the Botswana National Championships, scooping all gold medals on offer in the Singles, Pairs and Fours. Lawn bowls AGM ratified a Women’s Commission to promote gender equity in the sport. The BNSC confirmed that lawn bowls will be integrated into the Re Ba Bona Ha programme.
Lawn Bowls lows
The Botswana Bowling Association continuously gets allocated a very small share of the annual grant from the BNSC. In the current financial year, they received P100,000.
Softball highs
The future was uncertain regarding the league after the contract with BoFiNet ended. Softball was roped into Return to Play programme. Archein Hardware stepped in to sponsor the Independence tournament. Softball president, Katlholo Mosimanegape was elected member of the WBSC Africa body. Softball was selected as the 2023 WBSC Cup Africa qualifiers host. The Local Organising Committee has been launched.
Softball lows
The senior men’s team did not qualify for the World Cup that was played in New Zealand. The Botswana Softball Association also lost several players and officials.
Chess highsThe National Championships received increased sponsorship from P158,800 to P900,000 from Metropolitan. WCM Refilwe Gabatshwarwe won the women’s section. Chess League was held through the Debswana sponsorship. The national team competed at the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India. Two players, Gomolemo Rongwane (FM) and Bojosi Sabure (CM), won titles and a conditional WCM (Ruth Otisitswe). Gabatshwarwe scooped silver at the African Youth Championship in Namibia out of a team of 11 players who had travelled for the competition. Chess partnered with Botho University for a tournament for three years, specifically for tertiary students valued at P45,000.
Chess lows
Chess did not send a team to the African Schools Championship, African Junior and Zone 4.5 Championship due to lack of funds. Chess failed to host the AGM twice. Vice president-technical, Dr Moses Khutsafalo remains suspended.
Netball highs
Netball had the best season ever, winning the Nations Cup hosted in Singapore for the first time after 14 years. The win catapulted the senior women’s national team into the World Netball rankings. Botswana is now ranked 24 in the world from 31. The team had the lowest ranking going into the Nations Cup. However, they overcame Fiji, which was ranked 15th in the final. The men’s senior national team won Lesotho Men’s Tri-Nations Cup, which had South Africa and Lesotho as well. The LUCARA Netball League was a mouth-watering affair as Vipers and Police walked away as champions for both men and women respectively.
Netball lows
Board politics remain an eyesore within the executive committee. An appeal that was filed by Thulaganyo Retshabile remains on top of the BNSC CEO’s desk.
Volleyball highs
The federation started the year with Return to Play mini-league. The federation hosted Liquid Open Championship, which featured all women’s teams, the top four men from the Return to Play tournaments and the Under-20 national teams that were preparing for AUSC Region 5 Games. Zone VI Beach volleyball championship was hosted in Gaborone.
Volleyball lows
The volleyball league remains suspended due to the absence of sponsorship.
Wrestling highs
Botswana Wrestling Federation (BWF) hosted an AGM in Gaborone. They also registered an entertainment wrestling company based in South Africa called Wrestling Entertainment Champions (WEC). The BWF held the first trials for pro wrestlers in Gaborone with 25 wrestlers making the cut. The wrestlers were part of the Lobatse Sport Festival.
Wrestling lows
The BWF received a P50,000 grant, which made it difficult to host the national wrestling championships which are usually held in November.