Delegation makes final inspection of World Relays facilities
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday February 16, 2026 08:59
This week a delegation from World Athletics was in Gaborone for a final inspection of the facilities at the competition venue, the National Stadium, the warm-up track at the University of Botswana Stadium and accommodation facilities, amongst others. World Relays Gaborone 26 chief operations officer, Bobby Gaseitsiwe, said the visit by the 18-member delegation from February 9 to 12 went well. He explained that the delegation guided the Local Organising Committee (LOC) positively and pointed out areas that the committee needed to close quickly. The World Athletics delegation covered many areas, including competition area, anti-doping, branding, accreditation and security, overlay, media communications, transport, volunteers, accommodation, ticketing, ITC, power, event presentations, and budget.
“The main areas they advised us were to close outstanding issues on procurement. They informed us that there is not much time left, especially in areas of anti-doping, cabling, and power integration,” he said.
“They have, however, given us positive feedback in all areas and that they were looking forward to working with the LOC in the remaining days.”
Gaseitsiwe added it was the last visit before the World Relays set for May 2 and 3, but would be scheduling meetings weekly with the LOC to make sure that all areas are attended to.
When asked about the arrival of teams for the competition, he said they are expecting some countries, but no official communication has been received.
However, others were of the possibility of arriving in Gaborone in April.
“We are happy that the National Stadium is almost done. We are waiting for the Class Two certificate from World Athletics. The UB Stadium is also progressing very well, and the granule laying has started.
“We anticipate the end of February to be complete and then await certification. The LOC team did an excellent presentation to members of the WA delegation,” Gaseitsiwe said.
A maximum of two teams will compete in each of the six relay events, which include women’s and men’s 4x100m and 4x400m, and mixed 4x100m and 4x400m.
The competition will kick off with the heats of the mixed 4x100m and the mixed 4x400m, and conclude with the women’s and men’s 4x400m finals. The top eight teams in the relay event at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 secured their spots in Gaborone.
The remaining places will be filled via top lists from January 1, 2025, to April 2026, with the host nation, Botswana, automatically entered in all events. A maximum of 24 teams will be entered in each event. In the mixed 4x100m, all 24 teams will be selected from the top lists.
As well as World Relays titles, teams will be racing for qualification for both the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest and the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing. There are qualification opportunities on both days of the competition in Gaborone. Six teams in both the mixed 4x100m and mixed 4x400m in Gaborone will qualify for the 2026 Ultimate Championship, whilst 12 teams in every event in Gaborone will qualify for the 2027 World Championships.
On day one, eight teams in each of the six relay events will qualify for Beijing through qualification round one.
These teams will then contest the final to compete for World Relays titles and prize money. Another four teams in each of the six events will secure their spots for Beijing through qualification round two on day two.
The second day of competition will also see six teams in each of the two mixed relay events qualify for Budapest.
The World Relays in Gaborone will be the first time that Botswana hosts a World Athletics Series event. It will be the eighth edition of the World Relays since the event launched in The Bahamas in 2014.