- First Capital Bank deposits P50K into their coffers
- Funds for use as prize money in semi-annual tournament
- BTTA to save part of the money in players’ Lefika accounts
GAZETTE REPORTER
Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA) has been remarkably transparent and accountable with its finances at a time when credibility in sports has suffered a setback.
This recognition became tangible when First Capital Bank launched a new partnership with BTTA to improve the standard of table tennis in the country in Gaborone recently.
The partnership came in the form of P50000 from First Capital Bank to enable BTTA to host a new biannual competition styled “Lefika Table Tennis Tournament” at P25 000 per edition.
Regional and int’l tournaments
The tournament will involve elite and junior players as part of the national team selections for forthcoming regional and international tournaments.
The CEO of First Capital Bank, Reinette van der Merwe, has told Gazette Sports that they are impressed with the level of professionalism and accountability within BTTA as it endeavours to grow the sport.
“We are happy to be renewing our vows with BTTA because they have proven themselves beyond reasonable doubt that their interests are purely in development of the sport and we appreciate their efforts,” she said.
“The results are visible and we want to be a part of this journey as BTTA nurtures talent and produces top class players. We have worked with BTTA before when we sponsored them with P15 000 and they did a good job. That’s why we have returned with a bigger amount this time around.”
Brand visibility
BTTA president, Kudzanani Motswagole, attributed their acquisition of the First Capital Bank sponsorship to how they brand themselves in the course of their activities. “We attract sponsors through brand visibility that we have built and created when we got into office few years ago,” he said.
“Our mandate was to revive and turn the association into a professional entity, and there is progress. We have been working hard to improve the standard of the sport through various ways.
“This sponsorship will go a long way, especially for our elite athletes because only 50 percent of the prize money will go to the athletes while the rest will be saved for them in their Lefika savings accounts in order to instill financial knowledge in them and encourage them to save for their retirement.”
Motswagole emphasised the importance of financial accountability and transparency in order to attract more sponsors for development of sports. “We have adopted an athlete centered model to invest all the money we get in athletes’ well-being,” he noted.
Calendar of events
“We make sure that we are transparent with the sponsors by sharing our books with them and taking them through every process so that they may better appreciate how we use their funds. We are happy that we are making an impact, especially in the lives of athletes.”
BTTA is one of the few National Sports Associations (NSAs) that have successfully hosted all their activities on their calendar of events consistently for the past two years inspite of challenges encountered.
The Lefika Table Tennis Tournament is set to start 4 March at Livingstone Kolobeng school hall in Gaborone.