Sport and sustainable development in Botswana: towards policy coherence

Abstract

There are increasing connections made between sport and sustainable development, both internationally and within Botswana’s national policies. However, these policy documents are vague and overly broad. There is no focus on where or how sport can be positioned to support sustainable development within Botswana’s unique national context. Using policy coherence as a theoretical framework, the goal of this paper is to analyse the current policy as well as propose national policy objectives and instruments to support sport’s contribution to sustainable development in Botswana. This paper relies on findings generated through semi-structured qualitative interviews, policy documents and academic literature. We propose that sport should be re-oriented to achieve objectives related to economic development, education, and health. Numerous concrete policy instruments are likewise suggested, including investing in small-scale sport infrastructure, public awareness campaigns and better sport educator training. Ultimately, these instruments enhance the coherence of the overall policy and create synergies by addressing multiple overarching objectives simultaneously.