Maseo Nethanani
POLOKWANE – Cricket in Limpopo schools is slowly but steadily on the rise, mostly due to hardworking volunteers and the KFC Mini Cricket initiative.
Edward Khosa, Cricket SA senior manager, addressed the attendees at the recent KFC Mini Cricket Provincial Seminar held at Fusion Boutique Hotel in Polokwane on Saturday. The seminar was held to mainly focus on the Limpopo schools who currently and those schools interested in joining. Khosa said that cricket is for everyone, regardless of race.
“We see cricket as a true national sport. This seminar plays a fundamental role to motivate volunteers to drive this programme forward. We wanted to show these volunteers that they are important to Cricket SA and to South Africa as whole. Our aim is to motivate, share information, and to listen if they have something they want us to change ,” Khosa said.
“Cricket SA is happy that KFC has extended the sponsorship for KFC Mini Cricket by 10 years, allowing us to reach out to more schools. The important thing for us is to see the number of schools increasing in this sporting code. We will be able to create more opportunities for the children, the more schools join and participate in the league,” Khosa explained.
There are over 2 000 schools in Limpopo, of which 337 currently participate in the KFC Mini Cricket league. The growth potential for the province in cricket is astounding.”
John Mogodi, Limpopo Impala Cricket president, said they invite all the volunteers to the seminar annually to give thanks to their dedicated participation in the programme.
“We want to show the volunteers that it is not just about cricket, it is about children living a healthy lifestyle through sport. Keeping them off the streets and giving them a chance to be noticed in the sporting world.
“We do this as a token of our appreciation for their dedication and hard work. The sport has grown so much in Limpopo, we now have disabled children enjoying and participating in the sport as well. We are very grateful to KFC for their sponsorship, helping to encourage children to participate in the sport.”
Feizal Kimmie, Limpopo Impala Cricket chief executive officer, said the aim was to honour volunteers for their hard work in the districts.
“I have seen a passion for cricket in all Limpopo districts and we have unearthed many talented cricket players in the province.
“We try to introduce cricket through our mini cricket programme, and we do talent identification in schools. We have engaged with municipalities, the Department of Education and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture because we want to make sure that cricket is more accessible to everyone,” concluded Kimmie.
