One such partnership has already kicked off with the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Gaborone. Speaking during a welcome ceremony for the karate team that competed at the Commonwealth Karate Championships recently held in Durban, BOKA president, Mpho Bakwadi, said sport funding is a challenge not only for karate but across all National Sport Associations (NSA). He said over the years they have seen a decline in grants received the from the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC), which makes it difficult to conduct activities and compete in international competitions. “I call upon Hilton Garden Inn Hotel to work with us. We can have our camps here, we can sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for you to sponsor us. Karate is not an expensive sport, as Hilton you can sponsor a tournament and we give you mileage. We can brand your company name in our karate suits and book accommodation at Hilton hotels when we go for international competitions. I have tried to engage another company but it seems they are not interested,” Bakwadi said.
Hilton Garden Inn's acting general manager, Mphoentle Mathumo, told MmegiSport that he is holding fort for the general manager who is currently on secondment in Durban. He said upon arrival in Durban, the team invited them to Hilton Durban and extended the same invitation to the Gaborone facility when the team arrived back home. “The team was encouraged that if they won medals, they would be hosted for a meal and it happened. Hilton is a progressive company and we would like to align ourselves with like-minded individuals. 2024 is an interesting year for Botswana sport, and we felt we should align with karate. We have extended our hand that outside other disciplines that are being recognised, can we also identify those that have not been recognised the same way. We are looking forward to forging the relationship moving forward. Hilton as a brand is actively involved in sport globally, one such sponsorship is for McLaren in Formula One,” Mathumo said. Meanwhile, Team Botswana finished in position five at the championships after winning one gold medal, three silver medals, and nine bronze medals. Bakwadi said he was impressed with the performance of the team. “Their dedication, collaboration, and hard work have exceeded expectations. This is the result of their consistent effort and commitment to excellence and it is a great motivator for what is ahead. The Commonwealth Karate Championships was for national teams with only two athletes per country in each division. We won a bronze medal as the national team kumite,” he said.
Bakwadi said it was difficult to secure funding for the competition, but they managed to pull it due to the support from the parents. Meanwhile, the team captain from Mogoditshane School of Excellence, Bofelo Daniel, said they were competing with around 28 countries.
He said Prince Ngwako scooped silver in the Under-21 kumite, Lesika Motswagole (bronze in the Under 16-17 women), Thuto Kagiso (bronze-male kumite), and team kumite won bronze. He said it was a tough competition because they were competing with athletes that compete in the World Karate Federation (WFK), Karate Premier League. For his part, Ngwako said he was excited to have won his first Commonwealth medal after losing to India in the final. “I have always won gold medals at AUSC Region 5 Games, which is a development stage. I have completed my Form Five and it is now time to work harder in karate,” Ngwako said.
