BNSC Hosts Maiden Indoor Sports Festival

The event, held in Tlokweng, brought together six indoor sporting codes — basketball, boxing, judo, netball, table tennis and volleyball — competing under one roof for the first time. The initiative is intended to provide athletes with a consistent competitive platform while positioning indoor sport as a more visible and commercially viable part of Botswana’s sporting ecosystem. “We have talked too much since 1966,” Sikwane said, acknowledging long-standing challenges faced by indoor sporting codes.

“Your challenges have now to come to an end. This platform is the beginning.” The festival forms part of the commission’s broader push to professionalize sports structures, attract private sponsorship and encourage collaboration between national sporting associations. “The expectation is simple,” he said.

“Athletes must perform and win medals.” Beyond sport, the CEO used the moment to address social issues, calling on men to play a greater role in combating gender-based violence, which remains a major concern across communities. Looking ahead, the commission intends to maximize the use of the Jamali indoor sports facility to ensure athletes have better access to training and competition spaces. For the athletes gathered in Tlokweng, however, the focus remained on the courts, rings and tables — where Botswana’s indoor sports future is now being tested.