Botswana will be on the lips of the world once again when the world sports recognises excellence at the BT Sports Industry Awards 2018.
This comes as the International Netball Federation (INF)’s social media campaign for the Netball World Youth Cup 2017 made the shortlist for the BT Sports Industry Awards 2018 Social Media Campaign of the Year.
Recognised as the largest commercial sports awards in the world, the BT Sports Industry awards celebrate the very best work from across the sector. The awards bring together sports stars, celebrities, senior decision makers, influencers and global media.
The nomination means INF now ‘joins a list of new entrants to have made the final shortlist of the BT Sport Industry Awards for the first time.’
“This is fantastic news for Botswana and good for netball worldwide,” an elated former Botswana Netball Association (BONA) president Tebogo LebotseSebego proclaimed.
With the spotlight set to beam on Botswana yet again, LebotseSebego said this shows the benefits of hosting world class events, something which Botswana should aspire to do often.
“As a country, we continue to host good events but not world class events. I believe this shows that as a country, we need to reconsider our hosting model,” the former BONA president said.
LebotseSebego said going into the future, Botswana should not host just for the sake of hosting but should target hosting events that are commercially viable.
“I believe that as a country, we should try for events as big as the Diamond League. Right now, we have world class athletes and I believe if we bid for big events such as the Diamond League, the best athletes in the world will come lured by the prospect of competing with our own athletes. We must take advantage of such,” she added.
Meanwhile, the INF has expressed delight at their short listing for the prestigious award, which recognises INF’s campaign to take netball to the global audience.
The “mobile first, content everywhere” social media campaign created and delivered by QTV Sports in conjunction with Botswana TV and Tsena Online, attracted two million views on Facebook, one million on TV, over half a million on YouTube and 55,000 on Twitter – making it the INF’s biggest online audience ever for a world netball event.
Nikki Richardson, Head of Communications for the INF, says: “We are thrilled to be short-listed for such a prestigious award. Our mission is to take netball to our fans in a way that is relevant, immediate and accessible to them and to showcase our sport to new followers all over the world.
“The end-to-end digital content strategy enacted by QTV Sports at the Netball World Youth Cup certainly delivered, taking netball to the widest possible audience across multiple platforms in an innovative way, bringing them closer to the action and winning new fans for our sport.”
The BT Sport Industry Awards will take place at Battersea Evolution in London, on Thursday 26th April 2018.
(Additional reporting by INF)
