10 Nov 2022

Cabinet and legislators will on November 15 play a football match.

Speaking during a media briefing in Gaborone on Wednesday, Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare, said the match, to be played at the National stadium, would highlight the critical role of men in gender based violence (GBV) prevention.

He said the initiative could not have come at a better time, when the country was battling GBV.

“The game, therefore, marks a significant role that sport can play in addressing gender inequality,” the minister said.

Rakgare said the game would be played under the theme: Kick the Ball Not a Woman.

 Cabinet, he said, would go by the name; A Re Chencheng whilst Parliament would go by Re Mmogo.

“A Re Chencheng means that it is time to stop unfruitful debates on GBV and change our views and perceptions towards addressing the root causes of GBV,” he said.

 Re Mmogo meant that the ministry was in solidarity to mitigate GBV.

The minister also informed the media that both teams would relay the message #Solidarity against GBV.

Rakgare stated that the President, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, would be the head coach of A Re Chencheng, whilst Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Phandu Skelemani, would be the head coach of Re Mmogo.

“Not pre-empting the score line, we can promise you that A Re Chencheng has been intensely preparing for the match and Re Mmogo will hopefully share the painful story with you after the game,” he said.

He explained that football had key techniques that included spatial awareness; passing and receiving; decision making; dribbling; blocking; tackling; heading; passing accuracy, touch and ball control; as well as shooting.

As such, he believed that the techniques would be fully employed by both A Re Chencheng and Re Mmogo teams.

“The significance of this is that, GBV requires a multi-sectoral and multi-pronged approach for an effective response,” he said.

Rakgare said it was also important to note that each player possessed specific techniques and skills, hence the need for all to use differing capabilities to prevent GBV.

“Each player’s focus is on winning the game, hence the contribution of each player in the GBV field is critical towards ensuring that all of us especially our women and girls fully enjoy their human rights without prejudice,” he said.

The game will start at 6:30 pm and will be preceded by a game between Old Naledi and Gaborone West (G-West) at 4pm.  ENDS