He revealed that BAA was allocated four coaching slots and one manager position. However, only two managers were appointed. “The appointment of two managers meant the BAA board decided to drop me from the team. I received a call from vice president-technical, Kenneth Kikwe informing me about their decision,” he said. Kgosiemang said he tried to seek intervention from Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC), who informed him that there was nothing they could do. “I was coaching five jumpers and two throwers. Now BAA claims that I am their employee, which is false. I do not work for them. I tried to sort out this issue in the office but there was no solution,” said the disappointed Kgosiemang.
Reacting to Kgosiemang’s claims, Kikwe said the situation was not unusual. He explained that they had initially fielded a team of 42 athletes, which was later reduced to 24 athletes and five officials. They had requested six officials, but the BNSC turned down the request. “Normally, when we have a young team, we have a second manager who is also a coach. We have not fired Kgosiemang. He was in the long list, and it is a common norm that happens at every competition. He is not the first person to be dropped from a team, but sometimes we do not cut anyone. The other thing is that Kgosiemang is always travelling, so now it is an opportunity for other coaches to go out there and benchmark,” he said. Kikwe said the competition is for development purposes for both coaches and athletes, adding that Kgosiemang is no longer a development coach but a specialist for throws and jumps. Kikwe said the Region 5 team is a development squad that requires coaches to hold at least a World Athletics Level One certificate.
