Softball man nominated for awards
SOFTBALL heavyweights are in the running for two awards at the upcoming Sports and Recreation Awards, hosted by the Provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture this Saturday evening.
During the nomination processes, Limpopo Softball Association put forward the names of administrative guru, Mashilo Matsetela and Kwena Nkuna, the prodigious young pitcher who hoisted the national flag during the recent World Junior Championships held in Michigan in the United States.
Matsetela, the former board chairperson of the Limpopo Tourism Agency, has a long and impressive history of sports administration in both football and softball.
He swelled through the softball ranks as treasurer of the provincial governing body, later becoming the federation’s president. At the time when the finances of Softball South Africa (SSA) were in disarray, he stepped up and played a significant role in getting the game’s coffers in relatively good order.
Ahead of SSA’s general elections earlier this year, he was elected president of the national governing structure alongside another Limpopo financial genius, John Legodi. It was Legodi who was awarded the prestigious award last year as the administrator of the year.
Legodi, of Lebowakgomo Wild Beasts, is currently the treasurer of SSA, a position vacated by Matsetela ahead of his presidency.
Matsetela first took the reins of SSA in 2011 as interim president of the beleaguered national softball governing body following the untimely resignation of Basil Peters when the national administration was sailing through murky waters.
The stocky but shrewd Limpopo sports administrator and businessman was nominated by SSA affiliates and endorsed by the South African Sport and Olympics Committee.
In the Mahwelereng township, where his roots are deeply entrenched, his word is still law following his presidential roles at Spikes Softball Club and Mahwelereng United FC. Matsetela has also played leadership roles in the Northern Transvaal Teachers Union and Sadtu branches in Mokopane.
With his impressively long list of achievements and years of experience, he is a serious contender going into the awards.
Matsetela, who is currently Limpopo Sports Confederation treasurer, is one of the few sport administrators who are indispensable to both the key leadership and financial management.
His intention to revive the glory days of the game is simple: “The immediate objective of my strategy is to ensure our federations align with the constitution of SSA, proper administration, transformation, international participation, development, proper financial management and marketing.”
