Mabua relishes new athletics role
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday November 10, 2025 06:02
Mabua joined BAA in August and became the association's first CEO as the athletics governing body moves to establish a fully-fledged secretariat. Mabua brings a wealth of experience from Botswana Fibre Networks (BoFINET), where he was the founding CEO. 'Athletics is interesting. I have worked in various areas, including being a permanent secretary. People might undermine this role, but it is powerful and the level of national interest is high,” he said. Mabua said it was easy to transform from the telecommunications industry because he came at a time when athletics was shifting to commercialisation. He said that as a former patron of Maun Track and Field Club, he has seen athletes’ lives changing for the better. “I was also at the helm of starting BoFINET from zero to a profitable company, and I am going to adopt that here. I want to awaken the sleeping giant in terms of performance and beneficiation. Athletics can be as close to football in the future. At the moment, BAA is not well structured in terms of organisational structure, but there is excellence,” he said. “The pressure is too much. I have been in this situation before where I was working especially when I was a permanent secretary. What is pushing me is ambition for success more than being scared of people; I see a lot of positives that we can deliver. Of course, the increase in doping cases is scary, and if we are not careful, we will be in trouble,” he added.
Mabua said athletics has a lot of economic benefits, such as hosting events like marathons, which attract athletes from outside. “The top three in my roadmap are to strengthen governance, put structures in place, and develop a strategic plan that is biased to commercialisation, that has inclusion. I want to advocate for proper infrastructure starting from the regional to the national level,” he said. Mabua said he dreams that in the next 20 years, in every village where there is a football ground, there should be an athletics track and field. He said currently, there are no facilities for athletes to train, because the venues were built to cater to football. He said other sporting codes should rent facilities from athletics and not the other way round. “We have land, we had an opportunity to build an athletics warm-up track for the World Athletics Relays instead of renovating UB Stadium track. I feel the warm-up track (idea) is short-sighted. I believe we are an economy that can afford a decent athletics stadium. We have willing partners who want to work with the government to build the facility,” he said. Mabua said the secretariat structure keeps growing, and this week, Patrick Moesi was appointed as the sport development manager (technical), and there are still more vacancies to be filled. Mabua said the focus is on World Relays and talk for building athletics home has taken a backseat, but it is something they are willing to push. He explained that the reason for BAA's failure to attract sponsorships was due to the approach. “Our approach was asking for donations versus partnerships. BAA has potential for value additions for the corporate. We should be able to tell corporate who we are, we have gold medals, we have a following, and we have talented athletes. We are currently looking for sponsors for a league that will be launched next season, which will use the Diamond League format. We are moving away from the mindset of asking for donations,” he said.
Athletics has scored international success, with Botswana now among the leading nations in the sport. However, Mabua warns of the repercussions that come with success, particularly for individual athletes. Mabua said having a lot of money at a young age can be confusing, with some switching off their phones after being paid their incentives. He said there is a lot of effort to educate athletes about financial management, general welfare, and life after athletics. He said next week there will be a financial literacy workshop organised by BAA and the National Olympic Committee (NOC). Mabua said some athletes who are caught using banned substances are vengeful and are often uncooperative. Regarding female athletes, Mabua said next season they want to give them more support. He said some of them have been included in the Olympic Solidarity fund. “The plan is that when we have training camps, women's camps take longer, and we will see what this plan will achieve. The funding is performance-based, and someone like Anthony Pesela has been dropped from the fund. I am also glad that the number of Olympic Solidarity Fund has increased, around 17 athletes will be assisted to qualify for the Los Angeles 2028,” Mabua said.
Reports indicate that Kennekae Batisani (LA28), Golekanye Chikani (LA28), Oratile Nowe (LA28), Obakeng Kambereka (LA28), Collen Kebinatshipi (LA28), Bhekempile Lee Eppie (LA28), Justice Oratile (LA28), Letlhogonolo Mokgethi (LA28), Letsile Tebogo (LA28), Tumo Nkape (LA28), Bayapo Ndori (LA28), Kethobogile Haingura (LA28), Tshepiso Masalela (LA28), Leungo Scotch (LA28), Kemorena Tisang (continental athlete support), Victor Ntweng (continental athlete support), and Thompang Basele (continental athlete support) have received the LA28 Olympic scholarships and continental athlete support grants. Regarding hosting World Relays, Mabua said there will be massive benefits, such as renovation of tracks at the UB and National Stadiums. He said the Anti-Doping bill was not going to be fast-tracked if it was not for the World Relays. He said the government has committed to purchasing the best timing system for the event. “The relays' legacy projects are yet to be finalised, even World Athletics was asking this week about it,” he added.