South Africa was given the right to host the event, but indicated that they were unable to do so last month.Botswana Karate Association (BOKA) president, Million Masumbika told a press conference on Wednesday that Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Namibia have thus far confirmed participation. He said they were awaiting confirmation from South Africa and Angola. BOKA spokesperson, Jerry Ditlhong said in an interview after the press conference that preparing for the event is a challenge because there were notified at short notice. He however, said they had funds to host, as it is cheaper to be the hosts than to travel to another country for the competition.
He said although it was late they had to agree to host because somebody had to do it. Being the host, Botswana will have a chance to field a large pool of karatekas. The country finished second in the last edition of the competition, but Ditlhong believes they stand a chance to do better this time. Botswana hopes to field 64 juniors and 67 seniors. Meanwhile, new members of the BOKA executive committee were introduced to the media at the briefing.
