JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom came to life this past Saturday when it hosted the second KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial Festival this season.
The North-West KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial festival featured special guests including North-West Dragons players, Wesley Marshall and Eben Botha.
With the national lockdown restrictions reduced to Level 1, this weekend presented the perfect opportunity to bring joy back to many kids in the North-West region as KFC celebrate 12 years of their sponsorship and 50 years of feeding families in South Africa. This year’s theme of the KFC Mini-Cricket programme is “Imvuselelo” or “Recovery” – to resume mini- cricket in South Africa after a lost season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are really excited to see the kids back on the field and to be hosting provincial festivals again. Like everything else in South Africa, the programme was heavily affected by the Covid19 pandemic, we thought that Imvuselelo is fitting because we are recovering from what we have lost and rebuilding,” said Buhle Motshegoa Cricket South Africa’s Mass Participation Coordinator. “Our focus is on getting the programme up and running again and get kids playing KFC Mini-Cricket. We would like to encourage schools, that are still a little hesitant to taking part in sporting activities, to get back to the field and play cricket in a safe way, through observing all Covid19 protocol. The safety of the kids and the coaches is paramount to us,” she continued.
The KFC Mini-Cricket kids were privileged to be coached by Marshall and Botha, who all started their cricket in the Mini-Cricket programme.
“It was a privilege and an honour to be part of today’s proceedings. The KFC Mini-Cricket programme has had a huge impact in the South African cricketing landscape, and we are glad to see the kids back on the field. It is exciting to watch, and we can’t wait to see a few Proteas coming from this programme in the near future,” said Marshall.
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 South Africa.
Since the inception of the programme, some 2.5 million kids have played KFC Mini-Cricket and over 120 players have gone on to play for South Africa 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.
Photos: Wouter Pienaar
“KFC takes great pride in being able to invest into the youth, making a meaningful difference across the communities we operate in. In the last 11 years KFC, through the KFC Mini-Cricket programme, have been providing an opportunity to change kids’ lives so we are excited to continue with this legacy by starting the cricket ‘imvuselelo’ season.
This programme will continue to impact kids’ lives once more as we encourage them to get active, learn life lessons and bring joy back into their lives by again being able to play the game they love,” said KFC CSI manager Andra Nel.
