Ideas for a Botswana Themed Football Party
The
Batswana, as the people of Botswana are known (or the "
Tswana people") inhabit a land-locked country to the north of
South Africa,
with Zimbabwe to the north east and Namibia to the north west. Much of the country is covered by desert and is therefore sparsely populated; much of the nation's income is generated from
its rich mineral supplies, including diamonds, gold, uranium etc.
Football is the most popular sport in Botswana, but until their qualification for the 2012 African Cup of Nations, Botswana had never played in the finals of a major tournament.
A useful word in the setswana language is "pula". Literally it means something along the lines of "let there be rain" which, in a country that is largely desert,
is a totally understandable sentiment! However, over the years it has lost its literal meaning to some extent, and has come to be an expression referring to anything good; it can simply mean "cheers",
but it is also the phrase that crowds shout at football matches if their team scores. Incidentally, it made me smile that, on the web site where I found that useful piece of information, they also included in their
Top 25 Useful Phrases the setswana term for "Why is there a hyena in my tent?"!
Botswana Party Decorations
Decorate yourself and your room with Botswana shirts, flags and scarves (see links, right).
If you're serving food, search for blue or black table covers, napkins, plates, cups and
cutlery on our general
Football Party Decorations Page
For bunting, flags, balloons and more
Botswana Party Decorations Ideas,
visit our
African Football Party Decorations Page
As for colour schemes, in addition to the above ideas, anything else you can find in blue and black will help create the right atmosphere.
Food for a Botswana Themed Party
The everyday diet of most
Batswana consists largely of cornmeal porridge, which is served in one form or another for at least two for the three daily meals. For a more substantial meal
it is served with a stew of meat and cabbage or spinach. On special occasions giant pots of this stew bubble away for hours, until the meat - often chicken, goat, mutton or beef - almost disintegrates.
Try some of these next time Botswana are playing:
Chakalaka - Spicy Tomato & Bean Stew
Seswaa - Stewed Beef
Botswana-style Stewed Spinach
Drink for a Botswana Themed Party
Beer is popular and readily available in Botswana - wine much less so. The most readily available beers are of the lager style, and always served chilled.
Castle
and Lion are South African beers brewed under license in Botswana. Also popular (although less easy to find outside southern Africa) are the Zimbabwean "Zambezi" beer,
and
Windhoek lager
, from South Africa/Namibia.
The less well-off locals will usually opt for a local brand such as Chibuku, which frankly is hard enough to track down inside Botswana, never mind anywhere else!
