The Corinthians Sport Club hosted a Youth Day sports festival, from June 16 to June 18, at the club based in La Rochelle, in the south of Joburg.
Sport is an effective instrument that helps in encouraging positive change in South Africa.
“Continued engagement in sport develops key components such as psychological growth, establishing leadership abilities, self-discipline, respect for authority, competitiveness, cooperativeness, sportsmanship, and self-confidence,” stated Cllr Ronald Harris, Member of the Mayoral Community Development in the City of Joburg.
Corinthians were honoured to host the Corinthians Liberation Sports Festival, in collaboration with the City of Johannesburg’s Sport and Recreation Department and other stakeholders from Region F, demonstrating an alternative to the social ills that plague today’s communities.
Corinthians reached out to young people from neighbouring areas.
The festival offered a range of activities and attracted hundreds of people, with friends and families enjoying the moment.
Various sporting disciplines competed over the three days, with every player receiving a meal and additional training in their favourite sports code.
Corinthians also hosted an imbizo to create a platform for the youth to participate in netball, football, blind soccer and cricket, and to strengthen existing partnerships with the City of Johannesburg and other stakeholders.
“Corinthians has been training local youngsters in soccer, netball and cricket since 2012. We have also offered academic support through our after-school programme.
“We just started soccer and cricket for the blind, which has attracted over 700 young people, and with this passion, Corinthians hopes to lead the blind soccer team to the Birmingham Blind Soccer Championships in 2023,” said Jack Msibi, founder and CEO of Corinthians.
An elderly member of the local community, Martha Sibiya said: “When you look at children that participate in sports, they are often the ones who perform well in school. They have a better sense of time management because they know things such as, ‘I have to be at practice from 4pm to 6pm, so if I want to be in bed by 10pm, that leaves me four hours to finish my homework.’
“Corinthians hopes that sports will enhance young people’s economic involvement and reduce poverty, gangsterism, and drug use in the neighbourhoods in which it operates.”
