In an effort to encourage and empower the girls in sport, Botswana Softball Association (BSA) through its Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) will host the inaugural U19 Women’s Softball Tournament from the 22nd to 23rd August 2025 at BSA National Diamond in Gaborone.
Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) through the Centre for Sport for Excellence (CSE) program has partnered with BSA to host the tournament.
Held under the theme “empowering the girls, elevating the game”, the main objective of the tournament is to promote women’s softball in Botswana, foster teamwork and identify talented young players.
The six teams participating include Goodhope Senior Secondary School Centre for Sport Excellence, Masunga Senior Secondary School Centre for Sport Excellence, Independent Secondary Schools Sport Association-North, Independent Secondary Schools Sport Association-South, Girls High School Harare (Zimbabwe) and BSA U18 Women National team.
In an interview BSA Secretary General, Same Molete said that their intention is to develop their development teams in order to ensure that there is a steady supply of skilled and experienced players to replace those retiring. She noted that they intend to host the U19 Women’s Softball Tournament and extend it to other parts of the country.
Molete stated that they also want to give the girls international exposure, indicating that next year they intend to send their U19 team to compete in Zimbabwe. She pointed that as BSA they are still left behind in terms of sending their development teams to the international competitions.
Molete has however noted that that the sport is gradually improving as compared to the past years. She said that they had sent their U18 BSA Girls national team to represent the nation at the Utsugi Cup that was held in Japan in June this year, the friendly tournament that was organized with the aim of promoting international exchange through sport.
She stated that they also have the Re Ba Bona Ha Softball Centres in Gaborone and Francistown intended to develop young talent.
On the other hand, Molete has further revealed that should BNSC be able to allocate funds to the association they will send their U23 national team at the Africa qualifiers to be held in Kenya, November 2025. She expressed that the competition is very important as it is a qualifier for the World Championships.
