Botswana promises seamless world softball congress

Calistus Kolantsho | Friday November 18, 2016 14:23

Sesinyi was speaking during a visit by the World Baseball Softball Confederation executive directors for both the Softball and Baseball Divisions who were in the country to inspect the proposed venue for the congress, which was not named at the press conference.

He said as part of the preparations, they are in the process of setting up sub committees that will target various departments of the congress. He said the congress is expected to be attended by around 154 federations.

 “This is an elective congress and we expect the international media to attend. It is an opportunity to market our country. The congress must leave a legacy for us especially the Botswana Softball Association,” he said. Sesinyi said it is common course that when planning such a big event, there are always challenges.

 For his part, WBSC/Baseball division director, Michael Smidt said the congress would be big and it is going to attract many people. He said there would be many commissions that are going to have meetings here.

“We are excited to be bringing the congress here and as such we expect to start seeing more developmental projects coming to Botswana,” Smidt said.

 He advised Botswana to focus more on softball because they are good in the sport. He said they should not start competing with countries such as South Africa, which are far ahead in baseball. He said baseball is yet to be introduced locally. Meanwhile, Smidt said he was impressed with the conference facilities that are available in Gaborone. He said that was an indication that the congress would be a success.

 Regarding the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, Smidt said six teams would represent softball and baseball for both men and women. He said the qualification criteria are yet to be decided. Smidt was accompanied by the executive director of WBSC Softball division Ron Radigonda.