Mayor’s marathon to pay only 12 athletes
Sport
Only 12 participants will receive their dues from the controversial inaugural Gaborone Mayor’s marathon next week, before the dust settles.
For the past 30 days athletes including international ones have been sent from pillar to post when enquiring about the payments. The organizers together with Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) were still discussing on how best to pay the athletes as some could not complete the race (42 km) after getting lost on the route. “We have been consulting with BAA and IAAF because this event is sanctioned by them and we wrote a report to ask for their appraisals and they did advise us accordingly. Everything is now finalized and the athletes will be paid as we have given sponsors report and they will start crediting athletes on Monday,” said Mayor Kagiso Thutlwe.
The Mayor’s marathon, aimed at ‘awakening the sleeping city of Gaborone’ was broken into three categories 42km, 10km and 5km fun run. The main event, 42km has been the center of attraction with athletes lamenting delayed payments. The winner was to pocket P50, 000.
According to Thutlwe, the payment will be directed to those athletes that completed various categories. “Look we then came to a conclusion with other stakeholders that we will only pay those who managed to finish their respective categories.”
Efforts to unearth how many athletes will be paid were futile, but Weekendsport understands that only 12 athletes managed to finish the 42 km race. “The problem was mainly with females, but we will pay around 12 runners who managed to complete the 42km race including males. Out of these, eight are locals something which we are proud of,” he said. Dikgakgamatso Modisagape emerged the winner of the 42 km with Onneile Dintwe leading the pack from the women’s side.
Runners complained that there were few marshals along the route which contributed to the mix-up. They say they were given wrong directions by some police officers manning the routes. In the women’s 10km run, Rudo Mnoderwa, Gaone Bathoeng and Mema Tiango complained that they ended up running extra kilometers, after they were sent in the wrong direction. The same confusion happened in the 42km for both the men and women’s races. In the men’s side, Ntoko Kelepile got lost due to poor directions. Others were confused along the way but managed to get back on track, while on the women’s side, there was no runner-up due to the route confusion.
Zimbabwean runner, Tabitha Tsatsa was disqualified after the organisers felt she had used the wrong route. Thutlwe said he was disappointed with the marshals’ performance and said there will be an improvement in future. “This was our first initiative of the annual Gaborone Mayor’s marathon therefore; we hope to improve over time.”
Sport
It’s do or die for Zebras
The senior national team, the Zebras, is currently in Equatorial Guinea to for an African Cup of Nations Qualifiers tie. Before they departed, the team’s coach, Mogomotsi Mpote, had his troops train in Morocco. This was through the agreement between the two countries.
The agreement between the BFA and the FĂ©dĂ©ration Moroccan Football Association states that the two nations will work together to organize friendly matches between their respective national teams. It also allows the establishment of football camps for the youth categories (U-15, U-17, and U-20), this includes women’s national teams.
The national team has played over 180 minutes in its two qualifying matches against Tunisia and Libya. Currently, the Zebras, Lesotho and Liberia are the only teams that haven’t scored yet in the competition (this is correct by press time on Friday).
Before the match against Equatorial Guinea match, the local boys who were once known as the whipping boys of Africa in the early 2000s, were languishing at the bottom of the log standings in group J. They lost their first match away to Libya on June 1, 2022. However, they managed to salvage a point against Tunisia last year.
Before the team left for Equatorial Guinea, coach Mpote urged his players to focus on keeping their hopes of making a return trip to the AFCON finals alive after an 11 year absence since the maiden appearance in 2012. He noted that they would not allow their opponents to score and would ensure that they would get a draw.
Despite the various changes that have occurred in the two countries’ football landscape, the two teams have only met once before. In 2010, the local boys defeated the Equatorial Guinea team in a friendly match, which ended in an emphatic win for the visitors. Since then, the two sides have realised different fortunes in FIFA rankings, with Equatorial Guinea ranked 51 places above the Zebras.
Meanwhile, in their last six games, Guinea has only managed to win one of them. They drew with Rwanda and Togo in September 2022 friendlies. They have found the back of the net just twice in their six games. On the other hand, the Zebras, won one match against Zambia and lost four on their way to finishing at the bottom of the group with four points. At the conclusion of their previous AFCON campaign, the local boys traveled to Zambia and secured a draw.
MPOTE CONFIDENT
Despite the recent results of the Guinean team, which have only managed to draw with Rwanda and Togo in their last six matches, coach Mpote is still confident that his team will perform well against the hosts.
According to the head coach, the local boys have the necessary skills and resources to perform well against any country. He noted that the team’s coaches have been studying abroad to gain a deeper understanding of the various aspects of football.
“Tactically they should also be ready. We need your (Botswana fans) usual support, when we come back from Equatorial Guinea, we will go to Francistown, and we will need you. You are our 12th player, and you are very important to us.”
OBED ITANI CHILUME STADIUM CERTIFIED
This week, the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) Tuelo Serufho revealed that the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium will host the return leg of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between the local boys and Equatorial Guinea. The venue had initially failed an inspection test conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). However, following the completion of the necessary works, the stadium was allowed to host the match.
According to BNSC Chief, Tuelo Serufho, the various requirements that the stadium must meet included having a designated parking area for the media and spectators, as well as having signage that will guide the spectators. He also noted that the venue now has a world-class media area.
Sport
Jagdish Shah rejects Rollers society
Township Rollers, one of the country’s most decorated football clubs with 15 premier league titles, is finding itself in a precarious situation as its long-term chief financier, Jagdish Shah, threatens to dump them if the society does not bow down to his demand of forfeiting their 20 percent interest in the company.
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Sport
Orange injects P350 000 into Phikwe marathon
Mobile network Orange Botswana is committed to supporting the development of local sport. Through its sponsorship, the company will be able to promote and market the sport. According to Maano Masisi, the company believes that sport can unite people from different backgrounds.
He stated that through the sponsorship of the marathon, the company will help promote healthy lifestyles and unity among the people of Selebi Phikwe.
The Selebi Phikwe Marathon is scheduled to take place on July 29, 2023. It is expected that it will attract international, regional, and social runners. A total of P216 000 has been allocated for the prize money for the first ten places in the 42.2 km race. For the 15km and 10km races, the LOC will give away prizes to the first five places.