Ten months and a week is all that remains before the Botswana hosts the World Athletics Relays. The relays, one of the flagship events of World Athletics, is billed for Gaborone from the 2nd to the 3rd of May 2026.
While time is fast running out, Botswana is yet to announce a Local Organising Committee (LOC) to spearhead preparations. Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) vice president administration Oabona Theetso says this will be done very soon.
“We expect the Minister of Sports and Arts (MOSA) to announce the LOC very soon,” he says. According to the BAA vice president administration, the names of candidates for various positions in the LOC have already been finalized.
Given the limited time they are working under, the BAA acknowledges the appointment of the LOC is a little late. If it was according to the association, the LOC could have been announced immediately following Botswana’s announcement as the relays host.
However, as this event is a national event, everything had to be done with the highest precision. As such, the association had to submit names of proposed LOC members to the Minister for vetting, something which has since been done. “As BAA, all we have to do is compile the names of potential LOC members and make recommendations to the Minister to appoint them.”
BAA does not expect any significant changes, if any, to the recommended list submitted to the Minister. They are confident that the list is made of capable individuals and was done based on capability, not favouritism.
“All appointments on the LOC portfolios are based on expertise and capability, not who we know. There is a guiding template for appointment of office bearers, which we follow,” the BAA vice president administration explains.
This is not the only delay. Aside from the appointment of the LOC, the country is also yet to announce the 2026 World Athletics relays secretariat. This secretariat, which is expected to do the daily work of preparations, will work hand in hand with the LOC.
On this aspect as well, Theetso says while announcements are yet to be made, progress has been made. “We have made significant strides on the appointment of the secretariat. I believe we are currently at 90 percent on this one.”
While announcements of both the LOC and Secretariat members are imminent, the BAA understands they are behind schedule. The appointment of members of both the LOC and the secretariat are some of the immediate milestones given to the BAA to execute. These bodies are expected to work to execute all the milestones set by World Athletics as part of preparations.
As the BAA awaits the announcement of the LOC, behind the scenes, they are hard at work. The importance of successful hosting of the relays cannot be underestimated. For Botswana and Africa as a whole, this will be a historic event.
Since inception in 2013, the relays have never been hosted in the African continent. Better still, Africa is yet to even host the World Athletics championships. As such, Botswana, who will be hosting its first ever World Athletics series event, will also become the first to showcase Africa’s readiness to host the biggest World Athletics events.
Theetso says while waiting for the announcement of the LOC, the BAA is doing most of the spadework to pave way. This will allow for the LOC and subsequently the secretariat to hit the ground running when they finally take over.
Meanwhile, the BAA is optimistic it will host a very successful event in 2026. The event is expected to attract the world’s best athletes and boost the development of Botswana’s sport tourism.
