- Monies to be used for developmental projects
- Countries’ international participation fees also to be reduced
TLOTLO KEBINAKGABO
Botswana Chess Federation (BCF) will receive a 20 000 USD (P 223 000) funding from the world governing body of chess, the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) as monies to be used for developmental projects, this publication can reveal.
Gazette Sport made this discovery in the course of an interview with the BCF president Motlhokomedi Tlhabano following his trip to the FIDE congress and extraordinary general assembly . The congress was held in the capital of the United Arab Emirates , Abu Dhabi from the the 27th until the 29th of February.
He said FIDE has took the decision to fund projects of each nation’s choice with approximately 20 000 USD which translates to P233 488. “ The money is primarily for developmental projects ,” he said. “So we still have to meet as the BCF leadership to agree on our priorities versus the proposed grant. We always have a lot of work annually.”
The BCF leader also highlighted that the FIDE has took a decision to reduce international competitions participation fees for developing countries. “And this include us as Botswana,” he said. Asked how the reduction of fees will benefit his association, Tlhabano had this to say : “surely the reduction of fees is a welcome development, finances are usually a challenge for local sporting codes.”
To that end, the BCF further noted that the reduction of fees will also benefit BCF for the upcoming Chess Olympiad 2020. This is the man who holds that the biennial competition which will be held in Moscow, Russia from the 1st to the 15th of August will gobble up his association monies this year.
“During the Olympiad year, we struggle financially,” he told Gazette Sport in an interview earlier this year. “That is because sending a team to the Olympiad is expensive, looking at things like team preparations and travel and accommodation. This year we also want to engage a grandmaster from Russia to help us prepare our team ahead of the Olympiad.
That means seeing to his or her expenses in Botswana, including a salary. A lot of money is used during an Olympiad year.”
Tlhabano also pointed to an anomaly of the BCF grant from the Botswana National Sports Commission that remains constant at P500 000 per annum even during an Olympiad year. “But this time around we are optimistic that the new minister will be persuaded to make a separate funding for the Olympiad, which is what happens with other codes,” he said at the time.