Chess star explodes over prize money
Calistus Kolantsho | Thursday April 24, 2014 11:29
Khetho said each of the 248 players who took part in the tournament was paid P100 and this means the prize money should have been increased. He said it was clear that the BCF spent only P47,000 of the P80,000-plus available on prizes. He wondered where the rest of the money went.
Khetho said the federation should explain to the players where the money went. He complained that more money should have been spent on prizes instead of administrative issues.
In reply, BCF president, Tshenolo Maruatona said while Khetho is entitled to his opinion, he must appreciate there are many factors in putting together a tournament.
He said information on how the money was used was communicated at different forums and members agreed with the expenditure. He termed Khetho’s allegations unfounded.
“We have been hailed by different stakeholders and the players alike for the increased cash prizes for this event. It is on this premise that we adopted a prize breakdown that takes everybody on board.
BCF is proud to have used part of the sponsorship money in setting up a giant community chess set at Our Lady of the Desert Primary School in Francistown. As a federation, we have the mammoth task of developing chess at the grassroots,” he said.
Maruatona said BCF is a growing federation with no capacity of giving Khetho his dream prize money. He said that BCF has sent Khetho to international events where he could have won big prize money, but his performance has left a lot to be desired.
Maruatona said the National Championship was run in three qualifying rounds in Gaborone, Francistown and back to Gaborone with every stage eating up money. He said the federation exhausted the allocated funds and had no room to hike the prize money.
Maruatona said it was unfortunate that after being rejected by the membership as a candidate for the federation’s presidency, Khetho thinks he can advance his ambitions by making unfounded accusations.