Botswana National Sport Commission chief executive officer (BNSC CEO) Tuelo Serufho is optimistic that the country’s recently inspected stadia will meet required standards.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) sanctioned inspector was recently in the country to run the rule over three stadiums. The three are the National Stadium in Gaborone, Obed Itani Chilume stadium in Francistown and the Lobatse Sports Complex in Lobatse.
“We are optimistic that the National stadium and Obed Itani Chilume will pass the inspection so that they can be able to be used for continental competitions,” the BNSC CEO says.
Currently, only the Obed Itani Chilume stadium is approved by CAF to host its competitions. Fingers are now crossed for the other two stadiums to pass the test so they can be used.
“We are also hopeful that Lobatse stadium will pass the inception so that it can be used for the CAF club championships. If given a green light, it will be a huge bonus for us. We can then work on the other two to meet Afcon standards while Lobatse is used for club championships,” Serufho says.
If this is attained, he says it will boost the image of the country and market the venue in international arena. “If the capacity crowd attend the matches, it will improve the ambiance and the atmosphere will feel good,” observes the CEO.
While he expects all the inspected stadiums to pass CAF test, there is however more work to be done. “We need to improve the road infrastructure around the stadiums so it meets the standards. Also, it will not look good when international media is around driving on dust gravel roads,” he says.
Meanwhile, the BNSC CEO says the Botswana Namibia 2027 Afcon bid is still on the cards. “We are making progress. Tomorrow, we have a meeting to reflect on the progress made so far, gauge where we are, asses the challenges and pave the way forward to mitigate against the obstacles.”
According to sources at CAF, basic requirements that are elementary include reliable and compliant lighting, the vacation alternatives and dressing rooms which are expected to be under the grand stand.
