Is there an agenda against Glody?

Mqondisi Dube | Wednesday August 13, 2025 06:10

It is a massive opportunity for a country that is seen as a rising athletics giant after churning out authentic global talent, including Amantle Montsho, Nijel Amos, Isaac Makwala, and top of the pile, Letsile Tebogo. Without a doubt, Botswana's athletics track record would have played a part in World Athletics awarding the country the World Relays hosting rights. Additionally, Botswana has managed to host the second-highest level of athletics meeting, the FNB Botswana Golden Prix, on two occasions. Gaborone hosted the competition in 2023 and 2025, with undue interference costing the country the right to host the 2024 edition. A potpourri of meddling threw spanners in the works, as the chief organiser of the event, Golden Door Sports Agency director, Glody Dube, cried sabotage. Dube did not hold back as he pointed some influential figures at the then Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture, as well as the Botswana National Sport Commission, for doing their utmost to disrupt the project. But the light at the end of the tunnel was provided when a new government took over last October. The event was handed back to Golden Door Sports, and Dube became a relieved man.

However, the relief was short-lived as Dube had to endure sleepless nights ahead of the 2025 event. The National Stadium, which had been closed since December 2025 to prepare the track for the event, was still not ready on the eve of the meet. In fact, on the day of the competition, workers were still sweating it out with the blue track paint and crooked lines as athletes were preparing to warm up. World Athletics was reportedly and justifiably livid to see such an embarrassment inflicted on the international audience. Golden Door Sports felt a sense of déjà vu after seeing the cancellation of the event in 2024. Despite the event going ahead, it came as no shock when last week, it emerged that the meet had been demoted from a gold to a silver competition. All because some people given the task to get the track ready on time did not meet their deadlines.

But this is a bit of digression, the fact of the matter is that Botswana's ability to host the Golden Grand Prix and the added influence of Tebogo as a genuine global athletics brand played a significant part in World Athletics considering the country for the World Relays. Now to the main issue; the World Relays Local Organising Committee was unveiled last week, and there are no members of the Golden Grand Prix named in the line-up. There is nothing wrong with that as long as meritocracy and not tokenism were at the centre of the appointments. It would not be off the mark to suggest that there was a reasonable expectation that some members from the Golden Grand Prix local committee, given their exposure to organising one of World Athletics' top competitions, would have been added for experience and guidance. Not the entire team, but one or two sharp minds would not have been bad for critical positions. Otherwise, one might be tempted to assume that Dube is not a liked man within athletics circles.