Festive Community Games begin

Dudu Nhlapo of Diski Nine 9 receives the winning team’s trophy for the Festive Community Games, which will be handed out to the winning team at the netball tournament.

The streets of Gauteng’s townships will be abuzz as the Festive Community Games kick off in earnest across Gauteng this month.

Organisers of the games have been urged to establish a formal structure to ensure that the tournaments can be sustained. This after organisers said they experienced a number of challenges in organising this year’s games.

Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation MEC Lebogang Maile said that the department was unable to fund the entire tournament but rather create a conducive environment for the games to be played.

“We can assist organisers to get organised by engaging with the municipalities to provide teams with support by providing venues for free and source funding amongst others.

“The games are synonymous with individuals, groups and townships and we don’t want to disturb what exists, but rather consolidate it to make them better by offering you training and assistance in sourcing sponsorship,” said Maile.

He said government’s aim was to develop the structures of the game as Gauteng was the province that would feed players into the national squad.

The competition will also harness economic opportunities for entrepreneurial types such as uniform washers and food and beverage sellers.

“We must make sure that the games are not all about soccer; and I am happy to see that this year a netball tournament will also be played in Vosloorus, in future I want to see all types of sports,” he said.

“There is a myth that no-one is in Gauteng in December. This is not true,” Maile said, adding that he wanted the games to be effectively marketed, so that people in Gauteng could go and enjoy them. “Gauteng must be a hive of activity.”

These games are primarily about development. “Our money is the taxpayers’ so it must be directed to developing sports. This is why we are not giving money today, but we are giving the necessary equipment,” he said.

Displayed was a kit which includes soccer and netball uniforms, trophies and balls and the teams would collect their apparel at the department’s offices next week.

The Festive Community Games are a month-long kasi football extravaganza which runs from 15 to 30 December.