Botswana has stepped in to stage the tournament because of political unrest in Egypt, the initial host. BTA publicity secretary, Nelson Amanze, who doubles as the competition's organising chairperson said they need funds to augment what they got from the International Tennis Federation (ITF). He said the ITF has provided funds for the two-week tournament, starting with the warm up event on March 29, but the BTA will be expected to meet other running costs.
The one-week warm up tournament will attract players from Europe and America. It will cost P1.3 million and the BTA has a deficit of P400, 000. Amanze said they need another P250,000 for the Africa Junior Championships which start on April 4. "We are appealing to companies to come on board and assist. We have companies that have assisted and will unveil those who have sponsored us during the unveiling of the championships' logo tomorrow (today)." Amanze said the BTA will not fail to host the tournament as the ITF showed a lot of trust by approaching Botswana to replace Egypt.
