BY ORATILE OTSETSWE
Mascom Wireless is always on the lookout for potential partnerships with local based sport initiatives that have the potential to give local athletes a great exposure and fruitful opportunities in their careers.
This was revealed by Mascom representative Tirelo Keoagile during the unveiling of the company’s sponsorship of the 3rd annual Gaborone International Meet Local Organising Committee (GIM LOC) on Friday, 25th April at Oasis Motel.
Mascom has once again sponsored this year’s GIM with P100 000, the same figure they sponsored the event with in its second edition this past year.
Furthermore he thanked LOC for supporting local talent and planning the event strategically with a long term impact and value to athletics in the country. He added that all athletes should do their best in the competition for their own good because they will be entertaining the audience and also getting paid.
Keoagile said the GIM gives local athletes in both track and field the opportunity to compete against the best athletes like national champions as well as those that have competed at international events like the Olympic Games.
He said the GIM athletics competition also gives the locals an opportunity to see all of their international athletes competing in the home ground.
“Mascom has been involved in several sporting activities across Botswana to promote sports in the country. Some of the wireless’s endorsements in local sport include Toyota Desert Race, Mascom Top 8, Mascom Derby horse races, Diacore Gaborone Marathon and the Netball Youth World Cup,” said Keoagile.
For his part, GIM general manager Kitso Kemoeng said he is happy with the endorsement from Mascom as it will provide a great wellbeing for athletes to access .Kemoeng added that there is going to be stiff competition as 240 local athletes will compete against 100 athletes from several countries in the GIM tomorrow at the national stadium.
“The GIM team‘s intention is to reengage and to give evaluation to Mascom after the competition for the purpose of further partnership. The team’s view is that we want to overtake the 2 years of sponsorship of this project to go over 13 years like other known events that Mascom has sponsored,” Kemoeng said.
Among the countries that are expected to compete against Botswana at the GIM are eSwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
