Moorosi Tsiane
THE Sports Xpress Awards head of marketing, Tšeliso Kheleli, is still searching for sponsors for some of the categories despite the ceremony just being a fortnight away.
The awards will be held at Thaba-Bosiu Cultural Village in Maseru on 30 October 2021. The awards are meant to celebrate local athletes’ excellence both on the domestic and international scene.
Kheleli said the awards have 16 categories for which nominations have already be made and voting was ongoing.
SO far, the preparations are going on well but the success could be impeded by lack of finances.
“So far the preparations have gone well and we are trying to push to get everything in place to avoid last minute pressure,” Kheleli said.
“We have been releasing voting results weekly so that nominees can see how they are faring. We are trying to be as transparent as possible. However, our biggest challenge remains the lack of finances because sponsors are not coming through. We have sent out proposals to different companies that have promised us assistance but nothing has come through although we remain hopeful.”
Kheleli is also worried about the slow ticket sales for the awards ceremony.
“This event is meant to celebrate our athletes and we wanted to give their supporters a chance to be part of the initiative but the tickets are selling too slowly. So slow has been the process that we have been forced to reduce the price from M150 to M105. The voting is also slow.”
Kheleli said the voting will continue until the last day of the event and will close at least three hours before the event starts.
Currently, the awards are being supported by SIMA Communications, Thaba-Bosiu Cultural Village, Global Marketing Agency and Basotho Patriotic Party (BPP). Kheleli said Gender, Youth, Sport and Recreation Minister, Likeleli Tampane has promised to purchase half of the tickets on offer but is yet to fulfil her pledge.
The 16 categories are: Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, Young athlete of the Year, Sportswoman with Disability, Sportsman with Disability, Team of the Year, Coach of the Year, Referee of the Year, Media Personality of the Year, Sporting Moment of the Year, Fan of the Year, Communications Officer of the Year, Development Team of the Year, Match of the Year, Life Time Achievers and Sports Star of the Year.
