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Botswana: Barclays Sponsors the Dream Team
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
14 April 2008
Posted to the web 15 April 2008
Tshepo Molwane
Gaborone
Barclays Bank of Botswana has sponsored the national Under-23 soccer side with P1.5 million in recognition of its exploits in the last one year.
The sponsorship was unveiled in a glittering ceremony at Lekidi Football Centre in Gaborone on Thursday night. The Dream Team produced some sterling performances in the past year to make history. The side reached the finals of the Sasol Eight Nations Tournament in South Africa and lost 1-0 to Cameroon. The Young Zebras reached the group stages of the Olympic Games qualifiers for the first time by eliminating fancied Tunisia. Under the tutelage of David Bright, the Dream Team finished the qualifiers without a loss on home soil, beating Guinea and Morocco and drawing with former Olympic champions Cameroon.
The Young Zebras defied the odds to win a Four Nations Tournament in China. These exploits were rewarded last week when Barclays announced a one-year sponsorship, in a ceremony graced by the new Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Gladys Kokorwe and other senior government officials. Speaking at the occasion, Barclays managing director Thuli Johnson said they are delighted to go into partnership with Botswana Football Association (BFA).
He pointed out that his bank and football have a close relationship. "As you know, we are sponsoring one of the biggest leagues in the world, the Barclaycard Premiership. The league has produced four sides in the quarterfinals of the (European) Champions League." Johnson said that it is not the first time that Barclays is involved in Botswana football. Some years back, the bank sponsored the Top Four competition which was played during the President's Day holidays. Recently, it announced a P800,000 sponsorship for the Re Ba Bona Ha project through the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC). "We are a winning bank and we want to be associated with winners, hence the sponsorship for the Dream Team. Our negotiations started a year ago and we even brought in some experts to help us seal the deal.
It is our dream to see us (Botswana) playing at the 2010 African Nations Cup," he said. BFA president Phillip Makgalemele thanked the bank for coming to the rescue of the Under-23 side because securing sponsorships these days is not easy. Kokorwe applauded the bank for the sponsorship and said it will not regret as the Dream Team has proved over the years that it is a force to reckon with. "The team has brought smiles to our faces in the past year. Barclays has grown immensely over the years and established itself as a leading brand.
I, therefore, wish Barclays and BFA success in their partnership," she said. Under-23 captain Musa Ohilwe told Monitor Sport that the sponsorship will go a long way in improving the performance of the team. "It is unfortunate that the sponsorship came at a time when we have finished the Olympic qualifiers.
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I tell you if Barclays came on board before the qualifiers, we would have prepared better and qualified for the Beijing (Olympic) Games," he said.
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