The latest lockdown to hit the greater Gaborone area has come as a body blow to the Botswana Boxing Association (BOBA), who have been forced to postpone their Executive Committee Meeting originally scheduled for this Tuesday.
The gathering, meant to map a way forward with Covid-19 restrictions hanging heavy over the sport, will not take place until after lockdown – set to be lifted on 14 August.
Confirming the postponement in a brief interview with Voice Sport, BOBA Publicity Secretary, Taolo Tlouetsile, said,
“We were supposed to meet this Tuesday, to discuss and find creative ways of returning to our beautiful game following the Covid-19 regulations. But it did not happen as there are other committee members who stay beyond greater Gaborone amid lockdown.”
Tlouetsile admitted that the pandemic has taken its toll on local boxing, with many clubs unable to resume training since Coronavirus controls first hit the country back in March.
“I can’t confirm the number of clubs that have started to train and those that have not. But there are others that have not started to train yet because they use schools and their space is affected somehow,” revealed the Boxing man, who stressed that the meeting would be held immediately after lockdown comes to an end.
One such affected organisation is Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) Boxing Club.
A representative of the club, Dinners Sikele explained they are waiting on instruction from BOBA before they return to the ring.
“We have long been stopped by the outbreak of Covid-19. We have not returned to training as we are waiting to hear from the association on the way forward,” he confirmed, adding this was a very frustrating time for the fighters.
Meanwhile, major events such as European qualifiers, World qualifiers, and America’s, which were scheduled for 2020, have been pushed back to 2021. It seems Covd-19 has won this round; BOBA, however, will not give up the fight!
