04 Apr 2018

In an effort to accelerate a sporting culture amongst the youth, Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Thapelo Olopeng has handed over sporting equipment to Mogoditshane Senior Secondary School (MSS).

Speaking at the handover ceremony at the school recently, Olopeng urged students to nurture and strengthen sport talent through programmes such as Centres of Sport Excellence (CoSE).

Minister Olopeng noted that the centres were a 2011 collaboration effort between his ministry and that of basic education, adding that such centres had produced athletes in the likes of Baboloki Thebe, Galefele Moroko and Karabo Sibanda.

He explained that they were implemented as a way to identify talented youngsters with a view to accelerate their development process in sport to produce internationally competitive sports men and women.

“Through this programme, the government aimed at bringing within schools, a system in which talented learner-athletes are admitted into designated schools so as to drill them in various sport codes,“ he said.

Despite the achievements of the Sport Excellence Centres, the minister noted concerns of the programme’s challenges.

The sporting programme, which started off providing sporting equipment to 12 schools across the country, has experienced hiccups, citing lack of budget leaving the programme with shortage of sportswear to schools, he said.

He however told the students the P800 000 available would be used to purchase sportswear for seven sporting codes.

Meanwhile, Minister of Basic Education, Dr Unity Dow, said ‘sport is not only a body builder but a place for discipline and provides financial support as a career.’

She urged students that academics and sport could be coupled together. She further praised both her ministry and the youth ministry for the CoSE programme and the handover of the sporting equipment.

The sporting equipment included; tracksuits and gear for different sporting codes such as volleyball, football and boxing, soccer boots and running shoes as well as balls.

Thanking the two ministries for being present at her school, the school head Ms Kesaobaka Matsoma urged the students to use the equipment profitably. ENDS