In celebration of women in sports excellence, the organisers of the Vunani Annual Botswana Sports Awards are also rallying behind the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV).
The third edition of the Vunani Annual Botswana Women Sports Awards is set to take place on March 22 in Gaborone, in collaboration with Vunani Fund Managers. This year’s edition will be held under the theme “Towards a safer playing field”, and aims at demonstrating the value of sports in combating GBV in Botswana. “GBV is currently a concern not only in our country but across the world, and sports is a tool that can be used to fight it. Let’s use sports to spread the message of fight against GBV. There is sexual violence, harassment and cyber abuse in sports, and this affects athletes psychologically. This contributes to the decline in the girl-child and women participation in sports. They must feel safe in the field of sports,” reads a communication from the organisers, Inside BW Sports.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of Inside BW Women Sports, Kesego Okie, the third installment of the awards will see 17 awards being presented to the country’s best performing female athletes and administrators for the period January – December, 2024. “It is most humbling to be able to put together the 3rd edition of the awards, with great support especially from Vunani Fund Managers who are our headline sponsor until 2026. Over the past two years, we have been able to reward our excelling athletes and administrators with P157, 000 per year, and look forward to delivering this again this year,” she said. She mentioned that applications have been opened for, and that the closing date for submission is February 25, 2025, and implored all who meet the set criteria to apply.
Okie indicated that applicants are expected to submit application forms alongside their profile. “In order to ensure that submissions are of high quality and in alignment with national standards, only athletes who fall under Botswana National Sport Commission affiliates (National Sporting Associations) can apply. They are expected to demonstrate their performance from local and regional competitions for the year under review, with corroboration from the NSAs through signatures,” she reiterated. In 2024, Vunani Fund Managers injected P600,000 into the project, as part of their social impact strategy. The sponsorship is for the period 2024-2026.
FULL LIST OF AWARDS CATEGORIES & PRIZE MONEY Sportswoman of the Year: P20, 000 Media Awards: P20, 000 (Print, TV, Radio and Photographer) Umpire of the Year: P10, 000 Administrator of the Year: P10, 000 Coach of the Year: P10, 000 Team of the Year: P25, 000 HeForShe Champion: P10, 000 Young Promising Female Athlete: P7, 000 Sportswoman of the Year with Disability: P20, 000 Volunteer of the Year: P5, 000 Courage Award: P10, 000 CEO’s Special Award: P10,00