Sharp keen to hand over wrestling baton

The brains behind the establishment of the Botswana Wrestling Federation (BWF), Moagi Sharp has said he is ready to hand over the reins to fresh hands at next year’s elections.

Sharp told Mmegi Sport that the time has come for him to step down and let someone else take the driver’s seat.

“This is my last term in office and when we go for elections next year, I will not be seeking re-election. However, it will be up to the affiliates to decide. But I feel I have done my part in setting up this federation,” he said.

Sharp told Mmegi Sport that if the affiliates feel that no one is prepared to step into his shoes, he would lead for the final term. He said the growth of wrestling in Botswana has been slower than he thought.

“That is why we have set up World Entertainment Championship (WEC) in South Africa. I have invited its director to attend our AGM. I have decided to focus on professional wrestling and pull out from Olympic wrestling, which will be done by those who will be taking over,” he said.

Sharp said sport in Botswana is about volunteerism and feels he has done that for a long time. He said that is why he wants to shift focus to professional wrestling. “I am the current Professional Wrestling Africa president and without support locally, you have to try other means of doing things and being a leader comes with challenges.

All these years, I have been trying to groom other people to take over wrestling leadership. It will be a shame to see something that I have worked hard to build crumbling after I step down. This is like a relay, if I hand over the baton to someone and they drop it, all my hard work will be in vain,” Sharp said.

He said his dream is to see wrestling grow. Sharp said he emphasises governance, which is why he was awarded the Association Leader of the Year 2019 in Africa. “The award was not a favour but an indication that Europeans appreciate how I do things despite not being appreciated here at home.

When things are not being done properly, I take action without hesitation,” he said. BWF affiliates will meet tomorrow at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Gaborone. “The presence of the WEC South Africa director is to bring knowledge to our members. WEC South Africa is a sister company to WEC Botswana.

We also want them to assist us with equipment and sponsorship,” Sharp said. Sharp said he was happy that wrestling is an orderly federation and as a founder, he makes sure that things are done according to the constitution. Botswana National Sport Association (BNSC) allocated P50,000 to wrestling for the 2022-2023 financial year. The federation received the same amount the previous year while in 2019-2020, the wrestling body received P250,000. “Receiving such little money affected our programmes.

As we speak we do not have a wrestling mat and ring. We could have used the funds to purchase equipment. For the past eight years, we have been hosting nine events in a year including the national championships. That did not happen this year,” he said. Sharp said, unlike other sporting codes, wrestling needs a special

place to host its competitions.