A year after Botswana missed out on hosting the Botswana Golden Grand Prix, the event is now back and is scheduled for April 2025.
The return of the much-liked international athletics event was confirmed by a member of the Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) commission Harold Mosomane. The BAA commission is working to return the Botswana Golden Grand Prix (BGGP) to Glody Dube’s Golden Door Sport Agency.
“The event is scheduled for April 2025, and all stakeholders are committed to ensuring it happens. We will stop at nothing to ensure justice prevails,” Mosomane said. “The affiliates believe that an injury to one is an injury to all. If such a precedent is set, events could easily be taken from affiliates, and that would become the norm.”
He said the decision to hand the disputed event to the Dube owned Golden Door Sports Agency followed a resolution taken by affiliates at the BAA special general assembly. The affiliates voiced concerns about the lack of protection for their events, fearing they could be taken away at any time.
Mosomane stressed the need to protect events that have been developed by affiliates, particularly those that have not yet reached a level where they can generate significant profit or attract major sponsorships.
“One such event is the Botswana Golden Grand Prix. BGGP started as Glody’s Race in 2011, then evolved into the Sports View Meet, and eventually became the Gaborone International Meet. This growth was fueled by the vision and resources of Dube, the Sports View Runners Club, and Golden Door Sport Agency, who worked tirelessly to ensure the event’s success,” Mosomane explained.
He went on to describe how BGGP gained international recognition, with the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) advising Dube to apply for a bronze status with World Athletics (WA). World Athletics approved the proposal, and the event was granted a bronze status, making it an international event.
After successfully hosting the bronze status event, World Athletics recommended that Dube meet the necessary requirements to upgrade the race to a gold status. “Dube did everything required to meet those standards, and the Botswana Golden Grand Prix was born,” Mosomane explained.
One of the key requirements for gold status was the support of the government, which was secured. The event was successfully staged in 2023, earning positive reviews. However, this success led to tensions between Sports Door Agency and the Botswana National Sport Commission, which accused the agency of failing to account for the funds used. World Athletics was informed of the alleged financial mismanagement, which led to the stripping of Sports Door Agency’s rights to host the event.
Mosomane said that the process of returning the event to Dube is progressing smoothly, despite some minor setbacks.
