Botswana first competed the All Africa Games in 1991 and increasingly saw the event as an opportunity to demonstrate its prowess in sport. Its investment paid off and the team returned from each successive event with medals. In 2000, Botswana put a bid in to host the 2007 Games but was unsuccessful, being beaten by Algeria. Nonetheless, the country sent a strong team of competitors to the Games, with support from the new Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture recently formed in 2007.