Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL)’s alliance with the Botswana Boxing Association (BoBA) will continue for another year following an agreement by the two parties to extend the partnership by another year.
In what is widely seen as the last hoorah for one of the longest running partnerships in local sport, KBL will pump a total of P175 000 in this year’s boxing championships, popularly known as the Keone Mooka Mageu Boxing National Championships.
The new sponsorship marks a P20 000 increase over the past championship which stood at an estimated P155 000.
Speaking on Thursday at the sponsorship signing and launch, KBL Marketing Manager, Karabo Tlhabiwe, said his company has had a fruitful relationship with boxing for the entire 14 years of the sponsorship.
He said as such, KBL is proud to have been behind the successes of boxing, both locally and internationally.
The KBL Marketing Manager said the success of local athletes has been on show on the grandest of stages, including the Africa Youth Games, the Commonwealth Games as well as in continental competitions. He said this showed the tremendous growth within local sport.
Borrowing from BoBA’s tagline of ‘Our Boxing, Our Pride,’ Tlhabiwe expressed pleasure that over the years, local athletes have embodied the slogan ‘Our athletes, Our Pride.’
Having been involved with the country’s elite boxing for a long time, Tlhabiwe gave an indication of where KBL is headed next in their sponsorship endeavours, saying the company was interested in grassroots development of sports.
Earlier when welcoming guests to the launch, BoBA President, Michael Moroka, said as an association, they cherish the relationship with KBL as it enabled them to showcase Botswana’s finest talent.
“This sponsorship has been instrumental in producing the boxing stars that this nation boasts of. It is at this upcoming championship that all boxers get a chance to display their skills and prove their mettle,” the BOBA President explained.
Moroka cited, among others, BOBA’s current Vice President Technical Gilbert Khunwane as well as Youth National team coach, Lechedzani Master Luza, as some of the distinguished products of the Keone Mooka Mageu Boxing National championships.
“BoBA is thus greatly indebted to KBL for their gesture in being major stakeholders in our endeavour to nurture, mould and produce sports men and women of note,” Moroka said.
He said given the long running relationship between KBL and BoBA, the company has the bragging rights when it comes to the growth and success of boxing.
Aside from the successes in the international arena, the BoBA President said it is under the flagship of KBL’s Keone Mooka Mageu brand that Botswana had witnessed female boxers compete for the first time ever in a national championship.
“It is these female boxers that we continue to celebrate as a nation as they have never disappointed, it be locally or internationally,” Moroka said.
Meanwhile, the boxing national championships are scheduled for September 6 this year. The championships will be held at the Botho University Hall.
