Head of Department
Leadership of SASCOC
Leadership of Boxing South Africa (BSA)
Leadership of SANABO
Boxers, Promoters
Ladies and gentlemen of the media
Distinguished guests.
Let me join the programme director in welcoming you to the Gauteng Boxing Indaba. Today is a historic moment and we mark an important milestone in the history of boxing. As you would know today’s meeting is a culmination of several interactions between the leaders of the sector and government on a whole range of issues that have been a barrier to the development of the sport.
Perhaps the starting point should be to reiterate our commitment as government to the comprehensive development of sport; that is to say we are clear with regard to what our role is; and that is to create an enabling environment for sport to thrive, for development to happen, for the provision of adequate infrastructure, availability of resources and a concomitant policy environment.
Gauteng prides itself as being a pioneer in the task of producing champions in the various sporting codes; and as you would have seen we have been doing well in this regard and therefore boxing should be no exception. Our approach is therefore informed by working in partnership with the various federations under the stewardship of the Gauteng Sport Council and SASCOC.
It is an integral part of the theme and guide that has been at the centre of all our programmes as government. In the past two years what we have sought to do was to focus our energies on the economic benefits of sport. The Gauteng Competitive Sport Strategy aims to position our province as a preferred destination for major sporting events.
We believe that we have sufficient and superior infrastructure and the general popularity of sport is unsurpassed. Over the next day and a half we shall be seized with the task of crafting strategies and action plans that will help to revive and reposition boxing. Our principal task is that of providing leadership; ensure that appropriately capacitated structures are in place and matters relating to corporate governance are strictly adhered to.
We must also act collectively to address matters of development in the sport. In the past we have mooted the idea of a sport fund a fund that would exclusively focus on the provision of funding for sport through a comprehensive strategy and/or plan that will encompass the development of athletes, capacity building for structures of governance, and the development of infrastructure and programmes that run consistently.
As such we have taken a lead in this case through partnership with some of the leading promoters of boxing by bringing to Gauteng such tournaments as the African Glory which saw local boxers pitted against some the best international boxers. Additionally the partnership has not just focused on the competitive trajectory but we have been in the forefront of strengthening development through building boxing gyms in Alexandra, Ekurhuleni and Soweto.
We have also supported Amateur Boxing through the provision of equipment such punching bags and gloves and other related accessories. Accordingly through the Indaba we will seek to go back to basics and getting things moving and working efficiently. There are a number of proposals with regard to the policy environment and the choices we must make.
Boxing features prominently as one of the priority codes and this places an enormous responsibility on all of us to ensure that we contribute in the objective of developing athletes capable of competing on the international stage. We must then have measures through which we will judge ourselves in the context of what must be done for development and the competitive trajectory.
As indicated that our area of focus has been the economics of sport and its contribution to economic development and guided by a number of studies that have been conducted by independent bodies we know that:
- boxing has ranked second to soccer in terms of popularity
- boxing has therefore been one of the key revenue generators through sponsorship and has contributed immensely to the hospitality industry
- respectable numbers in terms of viewership had been attracted in the past to the great benefit of sponsors through increased brand awareness.
Thus the idea of a fund is a proposal we must consider in the context of development and the needs we will identify during the course of the Indaba. It therefore becomes critically important for all of us to have an agreed programme so that it becomes the basis of engagement with the corporate sector including the broadcasting industry which is essential for the development and progress of boxing.
Therefore the outcomes of the Indaba must clearly reflect on the critical matters including:
- must increase awareness of boxing and in particular our boxers
- devise a commercially viable and sustainable model for boxing in South Africa
- investigate the possibility and feasibility of aligning professional and amateur boxing
- must place the interests of boxer and especially women boxers and the centre of our turnaround strategy and development trajectory
- must resolve matters pertaining to broadcasting rights and the role of promoters
- need to refocus on Olympics, Commonwealth medals again to reclaim support lost for code and build a new generation of boxing champions
- consistency and quality of tournaments is fundamental to growth.
- reposition BSA and SANABO so that they occupy their rightful place in running boxing.
We must emphasise that our role as government is that of facilitator and bringing all stakeholders together in the interest of the sport.
The ground is fertile for us to take boxing to the next level. Let us get down to work!
