Lebotse determined to leave a mark in continental netball

NELSON DIRENG
Correspondent | Friday June 11, 2010 00:00

 

The Botswana Netball Association (BONA) president wants to see more African countries join elite netball playing nations. At the moment, only two countries, Malawi and South Africa are ranked in the top 10 in the world. Botswana is ranked 16, Tanzania (22) and Namibia (23).

Lebotse says it is an honour to be elected to the highest office in African netball. She wants the talent that Africa possess to be reflected on the world stage.

Lebotse says that with the right leadership, more African countries can be counted among netball powerhouses. Her role as the continental president entails organising regional tournaments, training and coaching. Her immediate task will be to organise the African qualifiers to determine the two teams to join Malawi for the world netball championships in Singapore next year. 

Lebotse is aware of the tough task that lie ahead. She says that just like Botswana, African countries face problems such as developing the game from the grassroots, getting experienced coaches, umpires and lack of infrastructure. She says she will not just be dealing with individuals and teams but issues at country level. 'This means I have to consider the systems that exist within different countries and find a way of managing them such that they are not detrimental to the development of netball within that particular country,' she says. She says her African position does not mean special benefits or treatment for Botswana. She represents the whole continent and she will ensure that she acts in the best interest of the game. 'Batswana netball players should however take advantage of having the continental president close to them and they should use it as motivation to work even harder,' she says.

Lebotse believes Botswana netball has a lot of potential. Botswana is rated third in Africa and has beaten countries with higher world rankings like Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, Sri Lanka and Barbados. Lebotse says BONA needs to organise more competitive tournaments to improve quality in the national side.

'We need to create another opportunity to play these countries and if we win the second and subsequent encounters, we can confidently say our game is better,' she says. She is grateful that netball is starting to be recognised as a major sport as evidenced by the recent P1.2million three-year league sponsorship from Spar. She says this will open more sponsorship doors as big brands like Spar and Motor Centre are not shying away from associating with netball.