Stanbic Bank Botswana is the new sponsor of this year’s Independence Day Golf Trophy, which will now be named the Stanbic Bank Independence Trophy.
After coming on board in the past year to save the same tournament after a last minute pull out by its then sponsor, Stanbic Bank has now come on board as a title sponsor for the tournament.
Speaking at the launch of the sponsorship launch this past Wednesday, Stanbic Bank Botswana representative, Tapela Mphuchane, said the bank will sponsor the tournament to a tune of P40 000, most of which will go towards sponsoring the tournament’s prizes. The amount marks an increment in the bank’s sponsorship, having sponsored the event to the tune of P20 000 in the past year.
Mphuchane said that Stanbic Bank decided to sponsor the event, and golf in particular, as the sport offers players and companies opportunities to network.
“This sport gives players and companies a chance to build relationships in a very relaxed atmosphere,” Mphuchane said, adding that one of the Bank’s major attractions to sponsoring the independence trophy was the fact that ‘it is one of only two tournaments in the country that is open to both men and ladies’ golfers.’
For his part, Botswana Golf Union (BGU) Secretary General, Mpho Kelosiwang said this year’s tournament has attracted at least 150 players. Of the expected number of participants, the BGU Secretary General said they are expecting at least 22 players from Niger while only three players will be from South Africa.
Kelosiwang said that the Nigerian golfers, most of whom are business people, come into the country with the help of the Botswana High Commission in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the BGU Secretary General says unlike in the past years when golfers were just expected to register free, they have now come up with a new system under which prospective participants pay a certain amount for registration fee. He said this comes after realizing that some golfers tended to register and then fail to honour the tournament.
Regarding the prizes for this year’s tournament, Kelosiwang said the winners of the trophy in both men and women’s category will walk away with prizes amounting to P2 500 each. The Independence trophy is the country’s longest standing tournament, having started in 1967. This year’s tournament will be held at the Phakalane Golf Club. The two-day tournament will be played over thirty-six holes, with 18 holes played on the first day and a further 18 holes on the second and last day.
