Lechana bush race replaces Mantshwabisi
Sport
Following the relocation of the famous 1000km desert Toyota race to South Africa, BORVIC Botswana in partnership with Botswana Motorsport Association (BMA) and VW has initiated Lechana 260 km Amateur Bush Race.
As the name suggests, the event is an amateur motor race, which is open for participation of non-professional racers. The race invite raw drivers and petrol heads that have a passion for competing with their driving skills who may not be formalized racers, or paid professional racers.
Racers in pursuit of this quest are invited to use normal 4 x 4 vehicles to tackle the bush terrain of the central district. The start and finish points of the event is located a few kilometre outside the village of Lechana.
The track is a 130km circuit which passes close to the villages of Tshimoyapula, Mabeleapudi and Paje. This motor sport spectacular will accommodate other codes such as international boxing night and motor bikes and quads show, race coordinator Motlhaleemang Moalosi said at a media briefing last week.
The event is designed to span over a full weekend, starting Friday night ending Sunday morning on the 25th June 2022. The event will be in two categories; vehicles (4×4) and quadbikes. The winners in the vehicle category will take P50k while on the other category they will get P25k. There will be junior categories as well for the bikes.
The organisers say this even promises to unearth latent motor racing talent. Such talent can be profiled and identified by professional motor sports scouts-sports development. Provide petrol heads an outlet to put their driving skills to the test. To promote tourism to the area including tourist attraction of the area. Local business communities benefit from the increased commercial activity around the race.
Lechana bush race is also poised to provide compelling sports content for TV. There is also a sense of national pride because this race is done by a 100% citizen owned company. It is an original concept by Batswana and brings on board ordinary Citizens to not only spectate, but participate.
Since the event will be dominated by amateurs, safety measures will be of priority. Each participating racer will have a standard insurance take through the project to cover life and or injury. Standard protective suit- driver and navigator required to wear the protective suit stipulated and provided by the project, organisers have said.
Standard safety features on racing vehicles- the project mandates the fitting of roll cage according to specs provided. Tracking the project will be able to avail on the minute location of all participating vehicles. Medical assist on standby through our strategic partnership.
Chopper control- the project avails a chopper to patrol and assist where necessary, said Motlhaleemang
The terrain in the area is said to be challenging for the drivers as there are rivers, ditches and curves that will need real drivers to manoeuvre through.
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 Fédération 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.