By Nthabeleng Motsomi-Moshoeshoe
Since the advent of our constitutional democracy, one of the most striking features has been how millions of South Africans believe in the power of sports, which can bring communities together, uphold national pride, ensure social cohesion, and change the lives of budding stars.
Social cohesion is a key tenet when it comes to the fibre of SA’s society, which has a painful history but is keeping its head held high despite the numerous challenges faced by our nation.
Since 1994, there have been fantastic sporting achievements, the most notable of which came in 1995, when the Springboks won their first World Cup, followed the next year by Bafana Bafana winning their maiden Africa Cup of Nations.
In the early years of our democracy, while the euphoria created by these two national teams was on everyone’s minds, something incredible was happening in our high schools. It was a soccer tournament sponsored by fast food giant KFC, which grew in popularity as it pitted schools from provinces to national finals, exposing communities to the raw talent that existed in our schools.
One of the products of this tournament was Benedict ‘Tso’ Vilakazi, who played for Madibane High School in Diepkloof, Soweto. Vilakazi went on to become a professional for Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns and played for Bafana. These are the kinds of stories our young female and male learners dream about – aspiring to be the next Vilakazi.
The Springboks’ talent is largely drawn from private schools, which have the required resources that are pale compared to rural and urban schools. We need to zoom into anomalies such as these and properly address them urgently.
Our young people’s dreams cannot be deferred. Such has been the mantra in recent years when we have seen a rapid decline in our young people as they battle various negatively impacting ills, some at home, some at school, and some in their communities.
We can’t belabour the point of South Africa’s challenges, such as high incidences of violence and crime, gender-based violence, youth unemployment, and inequality. While the media does a fantastic job covering some of these issues, we miss the deeper analysis that takes a closer look at the impact these have on our young people.
Our young people go through the most; nonetheless, they are the most enterprising when it comes to seeing the positive out of the negative. However, we need to roll up our sleeves and further assist them as they seek to change their lives.
The announcement by Gayton McKenzie, the minister of sports, arts, and culture, and Siviwe Gwarube, the minister of basic education, should be welcomed. We endeavour to see the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) play a critical and interchangeable role, particularly in the policy implementation of the two respective departments regarding young people.
The other critical aspect the MOU would address is cultural programmes—which cannot be left down the pecking order in a world where our children, not only in SA but globally, need to be reminded of their importance and impact in a society as diverse as ours.
South Africa is one of our continent’s better-performing economies, with corporates that do business here at home and are multinationals, so it can’t be a difficult ask when a clarion call is made to other companies to get involved.
We have corporates such as Discovery, KFC, Sanlam, and the Motsepe Foundation, who still see value in investing in school sports. We need more of these to join in. We need the various betting companies, who now see more value in sponsoring high-value, professional sports, also to look the way of our schools.
The decision by our two government departments is welcomed, but we all know they can’t do it alone. Our government needs support more than ever as we realise the urgent need to reintroduce sports in our schools. Our children need physical activity, mental stimulation, the ambition to turn professional, and the dream realisation that their talents may be spotted beyond South Africa’s borders.
* Nthabeleng Motsomi-Moshoeshoe is the new chief executive officer of the New loveLife Trust.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL.