Hour of reckoning draws near
Larona Makhaiza | Saturday April 22, 2023 06:00
Next week Saturday will see a star-studded cast of local and international athletes descend on Botswana to compete in the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix at the National Stadium.
Jamaican superstar, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce headlines athletics' crème de la crème that will be in Gaborone for the one-day blockbuster. The event organiser, Glody Dube who calls himself the father of the Golden Grand Prix has removed any doubts over the country's preparedness to host the event.
“The journey has really been going well and I have to say we have managed to do everything well within time. With that said, I can confidently say that we are more than ready for the big day,” an elated Dube said. Dube added that most of their objectives have been met, which is why he is confident that they are ready for the big day. “We have been working on the stadium fixing it here and there, more especially where it needed fixing and now the stadium is good to go and also the track is really good,” he said.
He added that all outstanding deals have been closed, which means all systems go. “Now we have wrapped up almost everything on our side regarding the Golden Grand Prix, we have secured the prize fees which start from $5,000 (P60,000) for position one,” he said. “Not only have we secured prize money, but we have also secured money for appearance fees,” added Dube.
He said they have not credited athletes' accounts with appearance fees as they want to avoid a situation where they pay but the athlete does not show. As a result, Dube said athletes will be paid on arrival. While everything is in place, Dube said there are still some issues with flights from Johannesburg to Gaborone but that will be attended to. “We currently have a slight issue with flights, only the flights from Johannesburg to Gaborone,” he said. Dube said they will soon hold talks with Air Botswana to solve the issue which is around flight connectivity. Some of the star athletes like Fraser-Pryce will set foot in Botswana for the first time.
The week has been dominated by negative football news including Namibia's withdrawal from a joint Africa Cup of Nations finals bid with Botswana. But Dube said the Golden Grand Prix spirit remains high despite the negative news around the country's most popular sport, football. "Not even. I wouldn’t say that; first we are in our own code and we cannot be bothered by what happens with football,” Dube said. Additionally, Dube explained that it is high time the government switches focus from football.
“It's high time we give attention to things that can really move us forward, things that can take us somewhere”. There was no point for us to take on another project when having things like Golden Grand Prix, we could be focusing on making it a success and going forward they should focus on things that are well within our means to achieve,” Dube said.
Meanwhile, Dube said people who will not make it to the National Stadium can catch all the action live on Btv and also Supersport which works hand-in-hand with World Athletics.