Contract talks delay Francistown marathon
Koketso Kgoboge | Thursday April 28, 2016 09:47
The marathon, which was scheduled for May 8, will now be held in August, chairman of the organising committee, Ben Tobedza told Mmegi Sport yesterday.
“We still had to sought out issues of contract with the sponsor, but I can safely say the marathon is coming,” he said.
Tobedza said although they were pressed to postpone the marathon, it had already begun to attract interest. “There was already a massive response. A good number of companies had already submitted names and individuals were also coming forward. Unfortunately, we had not finalised; even the registration forms were not ready,” he said.
Despite last year’s media reports that the cellular service provider, beMOBILE, was tying up a three year P1.5 million sponsorship deal, it has turned out the arrangement did not materialise. Instead a close source has informed Mmegi Sport that beMOBILE, also last year’s marathon main sponsor, has agreed to sponsor the marathon for another one year at an unchanged P500,000.
However, Tobedza could not confirm or deny the reports. “I can’t say much on the sponsorship because we are still finalising with the sponsor, but everything will be communicated as soon as we have completed the talks,” he said.
Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL) spokesperson, Tiro Kganela could also not be drawn into discussing the marathon sponsorship talks. He however said logistics are still being discussed with all the relevant stakeholders. “Nothing is happening yet, but due to the business strategy and ongoing consultations we (beMOBILE) will communicate in due course,” he said.
Francistown marathon lived up to expectation in its first year as it attracted over the 2,000 athletes. The marathon was the first in the country to cater for people living with disabilities, a move that was appreciated by the Paralympics Association of Botswana. The BTCL Foundation donated goods worth P154,600 through proceeds from the race to five charitable organisations in and around Francistown as promised by the organising committee.