Athletics star Letsile Tebogo has clarified that claims of multiple nations approaching him were exaggerated, revealing he only received one offer from Qatar in 2023.
Olympic 200m champion Tebogo has clarified remarks he made about being approached by three nations to switch his sporting allegiance.
Speaking in an interview with Duma FM, Tebogo revealed that Qatar, Tunisia and Abu Dhabi had tabled offers for him to represent them internationally.
The former world 100m silver medallist added that his management team had clearly communicated their expectations to all interested parties.
“I’ve got three offers on the table. Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Tunisia. Those are the three offers that are on the table,” Tebogo revealed.
“Because we told them what we are worth. And they are promising to up their game. Yes, that’s how it is. It’s something on the team. Every year, this is how much we can give you. But on a lighter note, the offers came, but they were all rejected.”
However, in a recent interview on Life Unscripted with Lezozo, the former world 200m bronze medallist clarified that his comments were taken out of context.
Tebogo explained that he received an offer from Qatar in 2023, following his silver medal in the 100m and bronze medal in the 200m at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
He added that the demands of relocating and learning a new language were overwhelming, leading his team to abandon the move.
“I mean, if you listen to that whole interview, there’s a point where I said, on a serious note, I haven’t been offered that. That was just some controversial thing that happened on the socials,” Tebogo said.
“And for me, I haven’t received anything like that. It only happened once in 2023, after I moved to the senior category, when I got the silver and then the bronze and then the Qatar people approached me.
“And then we sat down and thought to ourselves, if we move, you need to know Arabic, you can learn Arabic. So you need to be a fast learner when you go to Arabic countries. So that was the only time it happened in 2023.”
Letsile Tebogo concluded by noting that he will continue representing Botswana, as it is a great opportunity to inspire many youngsters.
