Botswana upbeat about Africa Games bid

THE Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) is eagerly awaiting the announcement of the official hosts of the 2014 Africa Youth Games. Botswana submitted its bid last month and the awarding of the hosting rights will be announced before the end of this month.The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) is currently monitoring the bid. The BNOC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tuelo Serufho was optimistic about the country’s bid for the junior continental competition.The CEO was part of a delegation that successfully presented the country’s bid in London alongside the Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Shaw Kgathi, the permanent secretary in the ministry, Ruth Maphorisa, BNOC President, Negroes Kgosietsile, director of the Department of Sports and Recreation, Falcon Sedimo.“Botswana is the only country which met the submission deadline. The only thing left to assess is our ability to meet the requirements to host such an event. Those requirements include facilities, accommodation, government support, stakeholders’ support and security,” he said.Serufho was in a confident mood when talking about the country’s credentials to host the second Africa Youth Games. He mentioned that Botswana has what it takes to stage the event given the country’s successful hosting of last year’s Africa Junior Athletics Championships.The BNOC welcomed a track and field expert from Germany. Oliver Scheer, sent by the German Olympic Committee, will work with coaches and athletes for the next three weeks across Gaborone, Shakawe and Selibe-Phikwe.Serufho concluded that they are expecting more experts from different sport codes to visit the country. However, this will only be possible if Botswana has earned the rights to host the 2014 games.Agencies