Historic sports merger imminent
The best thing for the business of sports right now is for the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) and the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) to merge and become one organisation, a sports industry insider has said this week.
As things stand, both the BNSC and the BNOC will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will see the two organisations work in unison to usher Botswana Sports into the next decade. An experienced industry insider who prefers anonymity, this week said a merger between the two organisations is the best route to go in the context of Botswana sports as funds for sports development will be coming from government and channelled into one organisation.
The BNOC is under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) while the BNSC came to be by Act of parliament. Initially, the BNSC mandate was to develop sports in the country while the BNOC existed to develop elite athletes to represent the country at international stages. In this way, there will be better control and reconciliation of resources. “An example is the Zebras fund from the BNSC and the Olympic solidarity fund under the BNOC. Merging the two organisations under one umbrella body will have a positive outcome for local elite athletes,” the source said.
He further argued that athletes like Isaac Makwala, Gable Gabonamotse and Khumiso Ikgopoleng benefitted from initiatives like the Zebras fund and now they are better placed to plough back into local sports with their skill and abilities. “A merger will ensure that sports authorities have better control over their affiliates or national associations. This will eliminate
situations where a particular affiliate , will go and seek funds from the BNOC and the BNSC at the same time. Such affiliate would even be free to move on to international governing bodies like FIFA, AIBA or FIBA to directly seek funds just as an example.”
The source who commands vast knowledge and influence in the world of sports argued that a unified sports body would be able to better deal with international organisations like IOC and speak with a single voice when approaching government for funds and other forms of assistance. Regarding the professionalization of local sports, the source said: “A unified sports body will be able to better assist amateur athletes to graduate into professional and plough back into the community by building sports academies, stadiums and assisting younger athletes financially. An elite athlete like Olympic boxer Khumiso Ikgopoleng could have easily turned professional.”
In addition, the source argued that, a united sports body will be able to move in the same direction when approaching sponsorship deals or government grants. “We will not be divided but will be approaching potential sponsors in the private sector as a collective.” Furthermore, he said the local sports mother body should adopt the same model as the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) which is a multisport mother body that prepares athletes for competitions such as the All Africa Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.
SASCOC is responsible for endorsing applications for bidding and hosting of international sporting events. Meanwhile, BNOC Chief Executive Officer,Tuelo Serufho recently said both organisations and the BNSC are close to signing an MoU that will see the two sports bodies streamlining their operations. In a surprise announcement this week, Serufho was announced as the BNSC Caretaker CEO replacing Falcon Sedimo.