Tshenyego non-committal on BNOC future
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday March 3, 2025 09:15
Tshenyego is keeping his cards close to his chest when asked about his intentions. He did not confirm if he would step down or seek re-election. He said he would not engage regarding elections until the opening of the nomination period. “You already know this and it has been the tradition of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) that we do not open election season so early before elections. Otherwise, you are only serving three-quarters of the term and investing in politics, which is what I am avoiding. As a volunteer, you are already time-poor,” he said.
Tshenyego said the announcement of the election date would be made next month as part of the calendar or in May during the Annual General Meeting (AGM). “But serving my second term I am proud to have served my country in this position and be part of the evolution of sport. Yes, every time and space has its unique challenges and I can say as the NOC under my stewardship we have plenty to celebrate and we could do better,” he said. Tshenyego added the number of programmes the NOC is running is much more than in previous quadrennials and that puts a lot of pressure on the small secretariat and consequently, the board. “Our second Olympic medal during the COVID-19 pandemic and qualifying our biggest number of athletes for Tokyo 2020 was a major feat. In the same period, we were the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa's (ANOCA) top beneficiary of the Olympic Solidarity programme and that meant generating compelling proposals and implementation, very stringent International Olympic Committee (IOC) reporting requirements,” he said.
Tshenyego said Africa is still celebrating Botswana’s Paris 2024 performance as theirs and the celebration continues at every opportunity. “Which industry or sector puts Botswana on the world map like that? In Africa we say, 'a child is raised by the village' but we cannot downplay our role and the fact that the athletics team was made up of athletes in the Olympic Solidarity Scholarships except two (Boitumelo Masilo and Lee Eppie). Medals are the most important sports performance criterion but what if you never win a medal? Will you say your entire strategy did not work? The answer is no,” Tshenyego said. He explained that they have seen so much growth in international recognition. He said three NOC staff got international sport jobs, which increases to four if the director of strategy at the African Union, Botho Bayendi is included. “Promotion of Olympism is one of the hallmarks of the last two quadrennials with our alumni from the Olympic Education Programmes representing Botswana internationally. Batswana are in critical IOC task teams and commissions. These are IOC presidential appointments,” he said.
Tshenyego said one of the projects is the $10 million Safeguarding Pilot Project done in partnership with IOC, AUSC Region V, and ANOCA Zone VI. He said Botswana, through the BNOC, led the establishment of Olympic Solidarity-funded training programmes and helped other NOCs in the region to establish theirs. “As far as sponsorships, one of the major challenges sport faces, the NOC had an unprecedented level of sponsorship ahead of the Paris 2024 Games, which included the first ever technical sponsor for the Olympic Games by Italian sportswear, Diadora. We also saw an increment in the level of government grant that goes to the maintenance of the secretariat after many years of stagnation,” Tshenyego said. He pointed out that the BNOC's relationship with the government and the Botswana National Sport Commission is the envy of many in the region. He said new programmes were created such as Sport For Life Botswana, which got the highest award globally based on the community projects that were delivered.
He added that the NOC is a model for Africa in the gender equality space. When asked about the type of person he wishes would replace him as NOC president, Tshenyego said they will allow the established process to identify his successor. “But of course, I wish for a person that can deliver better than me for the benefit of the organisation and Botswana sport,” he said. He said branding and fundraising as the NOC are some of the areas they can do better.