The sporting code that was popularised by the Americans, basketball, will soon find a home in this region.
The Ehlanzeni District Basketball Association has introduced basketball league games to be hosted by teams in the region.
The association’s Swekie Mamba said they were motivated by the interest shown by young people in this sport.
“We have realised that basketball is growing fast and it shows that young people are slowly becoming more interested than ever before.We are going to have games throughout the year,” he said.
“We were focusing on the Mbombela Mayoral Cup games, which take place only once a year.
“From this year we want to direct all our energy and time on this game, making sure that there are more young people playing out there.”
Mamba added that they were planning to introduce a basketball schools tournament to enable pupils to participate.
“It is important to start to shape the talent of our children at an early age. I believe that holding such games will help a lot. I would like to call upon all basketball teams around the district to come forward so that we can work together forward because our main objective is to introduce this sport at a provincial level so that we can participate in national competitions,” he concluded.