The new MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture, Onnica Moloi launched the Rural Sport Development Programme at Kgabo Park Village in the Moletjie area on Sunday.
The programme is set to provide resources to develop aspiring sports stars in rural areas and help in unearthing raw sport talent from those areas.
The Programme emanates from the department’s National Sport and Recreation Plan which highlights the need to develop and invest in previously disadvantaged communities.
The programme will see young people from Moletjie and surrounding areas the area taking part in sporting events such basketball, cricket, soccer, softball, rugby and netball.
“We want to give young people in rural areas an opportunity to take part in those sporting codes because some of them don’t have a platform to showcase their talent,” Moloi said.
“We will provide all the athletes with playing apparel within the identified areas and I am going to exert pressure on municipalities to upgrade sporting facilities in the rural areas because we want them to play on grass as is done in urban areas” Moloi said.
She also mentioned that there will be coaches for every sporting code and referees who will officiate some of the matches.
“The programme will start at schools and the reason why we want to have coaches is that we don’t want educators to be overworked, we want them to focus on teaching,” concluded Moloi.
Story and photo: Herbert Rachuene
>>herbert@mailbox.co.za
Featured photo: Onnica Moloi, MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture.
