Mini-cricket festival is back after a year-long halt
The KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial Festival was hosted at SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium on September 18 after a lost season due to the pandemic.
SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium in Centurion came to life when the first KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial Festival was hosted on September 18.
This was after a halt in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown.
The festival featured special guests, including Northerns players Sibonelo Makhanya and Okuhle Cele.
The weekend is said to have presented the perfect opportunity to bring joy back to many children in the Northerns region as KFC celebrates 12 years of its sponsorship and 50 years of feeding families in the country.
This year’s theme of the KFC Mini-Cricket programme is Imvuselelo (recovery) to resume mini-cricket in South Africa after a lost season due to the pandemic.
Buhle Motshegoa, Cricket South Africa’s mass participation manager, said they were excited to host the provincial festival again.
“Like everything else in SA, the programme was heavily affected by the pandemic. So, we thought that Imvuselelo is fitting because we are recovering from what we have lost and rebuilding. “The focus is to recover the programme and get children playing KFC Mini-Cricket again,” she said.
She also encouraged schools that are hesitant to playing sport to get back to the field and safely play cricket, observing all Covid-19 protocols.
Coached by the best
The mini-cricket youngsters were privileged to be coached by Makhanya and Cele, who all started their cricket in the programme.
Makhanya said his love for the sport started in mini-cricket.
“I remember that my school team was short a player so I was asked if I would join the team. I did and I remember the fun that I used to have and how there were no boundaries in the game, so when I hit the ball I would run as many runs as I could,” he said.
Makhanya went on to win a world cup in 2014 with the South African u-19 team, which he captained after the tournament. He then played for the South African emerging team, as well as the Dolphins and the Titans.
Great opportunities
Clifford Sihlezana of Intune Communications and Entertainment said KFC Mini-Cricket provides opportunities for all involved in the programme to grow, develop and shine.
“The programme is one of the most significant development programmes in the South African sporting landscape. Its impact goes beyond the game of cricket. It brings youngsters from our diverse country together and contributes to the social cohesion in SA,” he said.
Since its inception, Sihlezana said approximately 2.5 million youngsters have played KFC Mini-Cricket and over 120 players have gone on to play for SA in various teams.
“The programme plays a crucial role in CSA’s development framework. Over 2 000 players have been identified in the programme and have been directed to their respective development hubs and regional performance centres,” he said.
“KFC takes great pride in being able to invest in the youth, making a meaningful difference across the communities we operate in.”
KFC CSI manager Andra Nel said: “In the last 12 years, KFC, through the KFC Mini-Cricket programme, has been providing an opportunity to change children’s lives, so we are excited to continue with this legacy by starting the cricket ‘imvuselelo’ season.”
Nel reiterated that this programme will continue to impact children’s lives once more as they encourage them to get active and bring joy back into their lives by playing the game they love.
