Botswana sport employs 1,657 people - Rakgare

He also said there are currently 480 professional athletes in the country, mainly from the Botswana Premier League (BPL). He stated that the country has 16 international professional athletes based in the Diaspora.

Rakgare was answering a question from Member of Parliament for Selebi-Phikwe West, Dithapelo Keorapetse on Friday. Keorapetse had asked the Minister to brief the House on the ministry’s contribution to GDP, total number of jobs, number of professionals in Botswana and the Diaspora, state of the leagues, earnings of professional players, roles of the State and private sector. “National Sport Associations (NSAs) are struggling to organise league competitions due to lack of sponsors for their respective leagues.