The P153m World Relays weight
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday April 6, 2026 06:00
However, behind the jubilation comes the cost of hosting as staging this global event, though, does not come cheap. Last week, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone received P16 million from Debswana Mining Company.
Then on Tuesday, they received a further P5 million from Stanbic Bank Botswana.
Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTC), Halfway Toyota, and Diamond College of Botswana are the founding sponsors of the relays.
Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone CEO, Moses Bantsi, told Mmegi Sport that hosting the event is expensive. He explained that the initial budget from the World Athletics was between P96 million and P104 million.
Bantsi added that the budget was affected by the renovation of the UB Stadium, which increased it to P153 million.
“The government assisted us with some funding, which reduced the deficit to P47 million; it went down to P27million due to sponsorship received, and even sponsorship in kind reduced the budget,” he said.
According to Bantsi they have assisted Botswana Television (BTV) in buying broadcast rights from World Athletics.
Mmegi Sport has learnt that the World Athletics Relays Gaborone secretariat paid US$ 625,000 (around P8.5 million) for broadcast rights.
The breakdown of the budget includes the setup of the power integration project, which costs P22 million.
The amount caters for cabling, anti-doping, stadium works, tents, feeding, apparel, accommodation for 1,600 delegates, medals, freight for Seiko timing equipment, Delaware, 16 camera stands around the stadium, and the official opening ceremony, amongst others.
Moreover, Mmegi Sport has further been informed that the LOC must pay for return airfares for 350 athletes and officials. There is also P300,000 that will be paid to Dentsu Inc., which is an exclusive global marketing and broadcasting partner for World Athletics.
Bantsi said one of the observations was delays at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, which should be sorted out soon.
“It is up to us as a country to host the event; roads should be maintained, streets should be cleaned, and security should be at the top level. “We did not have funds to brand the city and market the event, but now things will change because we have received funding,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bantsi noted they were impressed by how the Lefika International Relays went, as the event was a test race for the World Athletics Relays.
He said they gauged technical officials, but there were some glitches in the mixed 4x100m relays, where female athletes, instead of men, started the race, but a correction was made.
“The officials will also have another opportunity to correct their mistakes during the Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) National Championships to be held over Easter Holidays at the National Stadium,” he said.
“Another chance will be during the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix on April 26. The track has also been tested, and it is in good condition. We have realised that we need new starting blocks.”
Bantsi stated that the times run at the World Athletics Relays will count as qualifiers for other upcoming events, including the Africa Senior Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the Ultimate Championships, the Youth Olympic Games, and the 2027 World Athletics Championships.