Last week Sunday marked the official kickoff of the First National Bank sponsored Youth development golf programme.
A substantial number of youths from the Gaborone area participated in the prestigious golf development programme.
FNB’s relationship with sport comes from far, as they have sponsored other non-youth related activities. The bank has been hailed in various quarters for their robust social responsibility programmes.
The programme, which has been limited to Gaborone only as part of the first phase, has been sponsored to the tune of close to P500, 000. The event was staged at the Gaborone golf club under the tutelage of golf veteran, Joe Marudu.
Kids ranging from ages 6-12 participated in the six-day tournament. On Friday, the kids competed in a three-hole competition.
Speaking to Sunday Standard Sport early in the week, Botswana golf union Secretary General, Ben Tobedza, emphasized enhanced participation of the kids.
“The programme adds onto our fortnightly training sessions which have already identified grass roots talent. Catching them young cannot be emphasized further anymore. This is the only way we can have future golf stars in Botswana,” said Tobedza.
Tobedza also said that the golf union’s development programme and strategy documents have been approved and adopted by the EXCO as part of the implementation programme.
Itumeleng Motsopa of the golf union has confirmed procurement of golf clubs and that a “train the trainer” programme has been scheduled for September in order to assist with the rollout.
“We need to train as many coaches as possible to make it easy for a nation wide programme roll-out. The aim is to train about ten trainers a year so as to have enough pool to achieve our goal,” said Motsopa.
