Gauteng sends athletes to TriColor Games in Italy
Gauteng will be sending 132 young athletes from across the province aged 16 and under to the TriColor Games taking place in Italy from July 24 to 30 taking place in the City of Reggio Emilia.
The Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation will send a sports team composed of various sporting codes to represent South Africa at the TriColor Games taking place in Italy from July 24 to 30.
The team of 132 young athletes from across Gauteng, aged 16 and under, will join more than 1 000 other athletes from more than 20 countries and the department believed the event will afford local athletes an opportunity of a lifetime to compete at such a high level against their counterparts from across the globe.
The 7th edition of the TriColor Games, themed Sports can change people. People can change the world, will take place in the city of Reggio Emilia and the Gauteng team will include sporting codes such as chess, football, rugby, basketball, swimming and athletics.
This will be the second time the province will be sending a team to participate in the games which are held every four years and the first time was in 2018 when only 90 athletes were sent.
This year’s Team Gauteng is made up of athletes selected from last year’s OR Tambo/Soncini Social Cohesion Games with a few more players selected by their respective federations, said the department spokesperson Nomazwe Ntlokwana.
Gauteng’s presence at the games is a result of a memorandum of understanding between the province and the Reggio Emilia region to elevate economic, social and technological cooperation, including the use of sport to share knowledge and best practices, she added.
South Africa and Reggio Emilia have a rich shared history through the formidable friendship formed between Oliver Tambo and Giuseppe Soncini, in solidarity during the fight to end apartheid.
“The strong bond of alliance has endured and continues to foster cross-geographical and generational friendship and collaboration, promoting social cohesion and mutual support, learning and sharing of knowledge,” Ntlokwana said.
She said the exchange programme enabled skills development for children and coaches engaged in structured sports, as well as the trading of indigenous cultures and information.
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