Maldives athletes train in Botswana for Olympics
Staff Writer | Friday February 26, 2016 16:22
The initiative is the beginning of hopefully a long-term collaboration between the National Olympic Committees (NOC) of the two countries to share resources and experiences in building on their relationship of promoting elite sport. The idea is that the Maldives will bring athletes to Botswana on a rotational basis, with each group coming for a predetermined period of time.
The athletes will be based at the Botswana National Sport Commission’s (BNSC) Athletes Village and will train at the National Stadium, under the guidance of Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) coaches.
“We are delighted with the arrangement. It is such an honour to us for Maldives to have chosen Botswana for their final leg of training and preparation for Rio 2016 Olympic Games ahead of many other countries they could have chosen,” said the BNOC chief executive officer, Tuelo Serufho.
He further said they will offer the Maldives all the necessary support while in Botswana.
The Maldives is an Indian Ocean Asian Island with a population of about 393,500 people as per the 2013 estimates. The secretary general of the Maldives Olympic Committee, Ahmed Marzooq applauded the partnership with Botswana as a great move for their athletics. “As a small nation, with limited resources, by opening their arms to accept and help us, it is a great message to big countries with all the facilities and resources. Botswana is showing what sports is all about - it’s about helping each other with resources they have,” the secretary general added. The Maldives has never been able to qualify for Olympics in athletics.
While there are bigger countries, with better sporting infrastructure and other amenities, the Maldives has been impressed by Botswana’s performance on the international sporting arena, given the country’s relatively small population size as well as an economy that is still growing and currently graded upper middle class. The Maldives will be covering the costs of their delegation in Botswana.
Amongst other things not only is this arrangement between the BNOC and its Maldives counterpart a positive step towards Botswana being a centre of sport excellence in future, it is also contributing to tourism and other national imperatives.