Athletes welfare must be prioritised

With the year slowly coming to an end and the Corona Virus still causing great havoc out there, it is now up to local sporting codes to work closely with the Botswana National Sport Commission ( BNSC) and the Botswana National Olympic Committee(BNOC) to ensure that clear plans are set out for Tokyo 2021. It has been announced that with or without Corona, the games will go on next year.

We thus challenge those in authority to come forward and reveal whatever it is they have been working on to ensure sport resumes. Re batla go bona the post covid-19 plans and how Botswana will safely return to the field of play.

It is already game on for Botswana Football with the national teams already back in action.

You see, Botswana cannot afford to relax while the dream of amassing four medals at the Olympics still stands. Though there has been great debate on the medal target, the BNOC has maintained that they do not underestimate the potential of local athletes. This is despite Botswana having only one medal to her name, won back in 2012. To this end, only five athletes have qualified for the 2021 Olympics proving that between now and mid next year, the country will need to take giant steps towards massive Olympic qualification. Qualifying more athletes will increase the country’s chances of medal winning. There is still hope for a few more athletes to book a seat to Tokyo. However, what remains a concern is the mental health state of local athletes out there. While many are worried about athletes’ fitness levels, coaches should also be concerned about their mental health. It will not be an easy undertaking for athletes to pick up from where they left off early this year and continue chasing Olympic qualification.

Due to lockdown, athletes were locked up and forced to halt training. While it was for a good cause, it was equally a mentally devastating outcome for athletes. Plans were ruined and season timelines disrupted. Now they have to start from general preparation to competition speed in a short period of time. Perhaps it will even be harder on those athletes who are not the tried and tested parcel of national teams. Such remain at home and are forced to fend for themselves. There is no telling what they have been going through while confined to their homes. Some probably went hungry,it is under such that we wish and hope that administrators at club level have not been neglectingt heir roles as guardians. It was a painful experience last week when one athlete cried out loud, saying his mother’s grass thatched house had caught fire and burned to the ground. Thanks to leaders at his club, they visited the old woman and offered to build the family a new house. This went a long way to prove that it is during these trying times that coaches and administrators need to check up on athletes more often.