BNSC PRIORITISES ATHLETES VACCINATION

The Botswana National Sport &ommission %1S& is worNing on prioritising the &29ID Yaccine for professional and semi professional athletes.

This follows the goYernment·s decision to lift the ban on competitive sport last weeN. %1S& chief executiYe officer

&(2 Tuelo Serufho told Sport Monitor that they are worNing on the prioritisation of professional and semi professional athletes to Ee Yaccinated.

He said that is in addition to teams that would represent Botswana internationally in the near future. ´All the 1ational Sport Associations 1SAs haYe Eeen approYed for return to play some after a few revisions and consultative meetings µ he said.

0eanwhile the %otswana .arate Association %2.A puElic relations officer Isaiah 5amontshonyana said they appreciate that the Ean has Eeen lifted. He said that does not howeYer mean that &29ID is no longer a threat.

“We are still in the middle of the pandemic. There is a possiEility of another waYe. 2ur role as sport leaders is to maNe sure that athletes are protected and by that we want the goYernment to speed up the Yaccination rollout.

If we are not careful we might find ourselYes in trouEle with sport Eeing a Yirus spreader µ he said.

5amontshonyana said Narate is willing to rush back into action but take it slowly Ey starting with Nata competition. %otswana 1etEall Association %21A secretary general 0anaNe 0aplanNa said return to action is going to Ee a mammoth tasN in getting players to refocus.

She said the remaining months would Ee geared towards cluEs· readiness to return to play. ´All cluEs must Ee aEle to show how they will follow the &29ID protocols. :orNshops are on the pipeline as you may already Ee aware that we haYe an ongoing coaching course.

:e are also waiting for goYernment to roll out the Yaccine µ she said. 0aplanNa said looNing at the manner in which the Yaccine is Eeing rolled out it is clear that sport and entertainment are last on the radar adding that it has clearly shown since

.

She noted that things should not Ee expected to get EacN to normal quicNly especially for contact sport that has Eeen Eanned for almost two years. SoftEall sport deYelopment officer TeEogo -ohannes said softEall is partly ready for action. He said they are left with minor issues such as cleaning the 1ational Diamond and distriEuting protectiYe equipment 33(s to cluEs.