BJF targets LA 2028 Olympics
The Botswana National Olympic Committee’s (BNOC) strategic four-year plan, which also represents the quadrennial cycle for Botswana's participation in the Olympic Games has been warmly appreciated by Botswana Judo Federation (BJF).
The local Judo governing mother-body are looking to make their maiden appearance at the Los Angeles multi-sporting event in 2028 and have begun work to pave their way enroute to the United States.
This week, team Botswana departed to Pretoria, South Africa where they will compete at the 2025 Africa Judo Open tournament as players look to improve their rankings in the continent.
Comprising of 11 athletes, three (3) females and eight (8) males across the cadet, junior and senior categories coach, Sensei Rene William Matike believes Botswana is in the right track in line with the goals to have a representative in Los Angeles. This past week, His Excellency Advocate Duma Gideon Boko received an Honorary Black Belt at the prestigious International Judo Federation (IJF) 2025
World Judo Championships during a Gala Dinner in Budapest, Hungary, a recognition of Botswana President’s contribution to the growth and promotion of Judo over the years.
“There is a lot of pressure, the head of state is involved in the sport. When we go for competition people expect to see lots of medals, it is pressure but as a coach this pressure is very much appreciated. I am not scared, I am an international coach and have the necessary skills to produce top level talents—I love pressure, it is an opportunity to finally show the world what Botswana is all about,” he said.
Sharing on their strategic objectives to make an Olympic dream a reality, Matike highlighted that during his eight (8) years of working with BJF, he believes the federation is getting closer to compete at the elite level of the sport.
“The 2025 Africa Judo Open tournament in South Africa provides a good opportunity to start preparing our road to the Olympics, it is an Olympic qualifier. This kind of competition gives athletes an opportunity to gain points and increase their world rankings—in June 2028, International Judo Federation will stop qualification tournaments and select the best ranked athletes from across different categories for a slot in the Olympics and we are looking to take full advantage and put ourselves in a good position,” Matike shared.
South Africa is hosting the games in the southern part of the continent for the first time as they predominantly have been staged in the northern part of the Africa and Matike confirmed that it is a welcomed development as it enabled them [BJF] to send more athletes to the games.
“We have a strong development plan, programs like ‘Taking Judo to the people’, Re Ba Bona Ha, so we are happy to be heading off to South Africa to give our athletes exposure and international experience. We have been trained hard and we are ready to defend the colours of Botswana—we [coaches and athletes] are excited to be part of this competition. We have junior athletes who are eyeing the next Olympic Games after 2028 and there are some we believe will be ready for 2028,” Matike highlighted.
Matike confirmed to this publication that they also reached an agreement with Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) to release some Judo athletes who are part of the African Union Sport Council (AUSC) Region 5 Games, Team Botswana, to travel to Pretoria and will head off to Windhoek, Namibia after the competition.
The Cameroonian coach, who won the Non-Citizen of the Year award at the 43rd Botswana Sports Awards last year, highlighted their commitment to achieving success by training three (3) times a week despite limited resources.