BNSC scrapes athlete allowances
...Volleyball players call for reinstatement of national team player fees
Local volleyball players have recently called on the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) to consider reinstating the national team allowance which was previously paid to football and volleyball players.
This comes at a time when most athletes are in a state of despair due to lack of volleyball action at local level. Though the P1500 allowance wasn’t enough to take care of the needs of players, it was better than nothing as the BNSC often paid the stipend in bulk for a period of 12 months. However, the BNSC cancelled the stipend for both football and volleyball players back in 2019 since it was posing logistical problems to the sports mother body. Back then the reasons advanced were that national sports associations were unable to identify long term national team athletes, making it difficult for the commission to make any further payments. However, two years down the line, volleyball players are already feeling the pinch since many of them depended on the allowance for their livelihood. Since then players have cried out that the freezing of the allowance has left a void in their lives and further pleaded with the BNSC to reconsider the decision. “We were used to having this allowance, so I had plans on what to do with the money more so that they used to credit the money in bulk. Stopping the allowance has shuttered dreams that I had at that time because it was just stopped abruptly,” said one concerned national team player. Another player who preferred anonymity buttressed their plight: “It has affected us negatively because that (allowance) was a motivation on its own. We could train on our own if the clubs were not able to help us with that. We used the money for transport to gyms and on other things.” In an interview with Sun Sport this week, BNSC Sports Development Officer, Bobby Gaseitsiwe said, “We are aware of the fact that most of them benefited from the allowance but consistency was the problem and we could not fully account for that to the ministry. Yes, we will be interested in engaging the ministry with the issue provided that national sports associations consult us on the matter. The Welfare of athletes is our main priority and it is in our interest to make sports benefit our athletes,” he said.