Wrestling turns to fried chicken
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday August 5, 2023 06:00
Wrestling president, Moagi Sharp has registered a business, Sharp Fried Chicken in a bid to raise funds for the sport. Wrestling is placed in tier four, and they received P35,000 during the current financial year.
In the last financial year, the federation received P50,000. The founder, Moagi Sharp told Mmegi Sport that they realised if they can depend on government funding, they will remain stagnant.
“The most important thing that we want is the wrestling ring. We want to try everything to raise funds for our federation hence the fried chicken business. We also have bottled water and we hope that something will come out,” he said.
The company is registered at the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) as Sharp Fried Chicken. Sharp said the plan is to start the business by selling in the streets of Selebi-Phikwe and later open a restaurant before expanding to other areas of the country.
He said the best way to survive is to commercialise the sport.
Meanwhile, the Wrestling Federation will host the World Gladiator Wrestling (WGW) tournament in December. Sharp said the Botswana Wrestling Federation (BWF) has linked with an American wrestling promoter, Nick Cara to entertain professional wrestling fans in Botswana with an end-of-year gift.
Sharp said for the first time, a mega pro-wrestling event will be held in the country.
“We have signed an agreement with WGW, which will bring the ‘Battle of the Gladiators’ championship on December 28 (Francistown) and December 31 (Gaborone). During the championship, there will be a Southern Africa championship belt up for grabs,” he said.
Sharp said the ‘Battle of the Gladiators’ would be divided into regional, continental and bouts for professional wrestlers. He said some local wrestlers will also step into the ring and challenge for the title.
Sharp said they have been working on the grassroots development of wrestlers. “We expect our partnership with the World Gladiator Wrestling to be beneficial in terms of growing our sport,” he said.