SuperSport Schools and SABC Sport: A broadcaster marriage aimed at supporting school sports in SA [VIDEO]

Five months after ministers of basic education Siviwe Gwarube and minister of sports, arts and culture Gayton McKenzie committed to the revival of school sports, sporting broadcasters have followed suit.

On Thursday, SuperSport Schools and SABC Sport announced they would collaborate in their pursuit of broadcasting school sports.

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Broadcaster marriage

The broadcasters’ marriage will see the launch of a fully curated SuperSport Schools channel on the SABC Plus streaming platform starting this weekend.

“This partnership allows the SuperSport Schools channel to be accessible on the SABC Plus streaming platform, enabling rising stars to gain recognition in the early stages of their lives, which will lead to more opportunities in the future,” averred the public broadcaster’s Group Chief Executive Officer Nomsa Chabeli.

The new channel on SABC Plus will feature a selection of content from SuperSport Schools’ extensive portfolio, which includes over 60 000 matches in 2024 across a variety of sports disciplines.

The channel will focus on a diverse range of schools and youth sports, including football, netball, rugby, athletics, hockey and basketball.

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SuperSport CEO Rendani Ramovha said the collaboration was about encouraging participation at the grassroots level.

“We want to encourage participation in sports at a grassroots level and reignite interest in sports across all schools in the country. Both SuperSport and the SABC share a common vision of providing young athletes with a platform to shine and inspiring future generations of sportsmen and women,” he said.

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Government’s goals

In September, when McKenzie and Gwarube signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to revive sports in schools, they spoke about wanting to level the playing field.

“We want to change this thing where when you’re a privileged child, you get all the equipment and opportunities,” said McKenzie.

“There are 13.5 million pupils in our schools, and they’re all worthy of an opportunity to have sports available in their schools. So, whether you’re from Qwaqwa or Qumbu or Sandton, we want you to have the same amount of opportunities to play sport, to be involved in culture,” said Gwarube.

The broadcasters’ collaboration speaks to what the ministers were also aiming for when signing the MoU.

By partnering with SABC Sport and leveraging the SABC Plus platform, SuperSport Schools is extending its commitment to making youth sports accessible to diverse audiences.

The curated content will focus on some of the most popular and significant sports in South Africa, including football, netball, rugby, athletics, hockey, and basketball.

This selection is designed to cater to the diverse interests of South African sports fans and to promote a wide array of young talent from schools and clubs across the country.

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