M’langa looks back on highlights

Not only
have we witnessed the successful hosting of the 2013 African Cup of Nations
Soccer tournament, a number of Premier Soccer League and National First Division
games, including the Telkom Cup Final hosted here for the first time, the rugby
Currie Cup and an international rugby test match played at our very own 2010
Soccer World Cup stadium, Mbombela, but we have also seen teams from the
province taking centre stage and dominating national platforms.
Teams such as
the Bushbuckridge-based Daniye Primary School, who recently clinched an award
during the SA Sport Awards held in Sun City, and Mbombela United who are just a
game away from qualifying for the last 32 of the most lucrative soccer tourney
in the PSL, the Nedbank Cup, come to mind.
We have witnessed the rebirth of
the Tsb-sponsored soccer tourney, the Selati Cup, which is the province’s
biggest amateur soccer tourney hosted in the Nkomazi subregion, with the
participation of more than 100 soccer teams.
We have also seen some
individual brilliance from our local athletes who have taken the country by
storm, making names for themselves in the national arena.
Credit must also
be given to the Mbombela Stadium management for a sterling job well done by
ensuring that the stadium doesn’t turn into a “white elephant”.
Of all the
2010 Soccer World Cup stadiums, Mbombela stood out as it had hosted a number of
sporting activities, which have put the province on national map.
In the
words of Roelf Kotze, the man tasked with overseeing the stadium, we might see
more big soccer and rugby games hosted here, which will impact positively on our
economy.
The promotion of Mpumalanga Black Aces into the PSL and the Pumas
Rugby Club into the Absa Currie Cup couldn’t have come at a better time. These
teams’ promotion into the country’ elite leagues signal more game time for the
province and the stadium.
The Pumas rugby club have already declared the
stadium their full-time home, while Mpumalanga Black Aces are engaged in talks
with the Mbombela Local Municipality to make the stadium their permanent
home.
All these recent developments have changed the manner in which the rest
of the country viewed Mpumalanga.
Also to be commended is the MEC for sport,
Sibongile Manana, for supporting local athletes and both the soccer and rugby
teams in the province. Her actions and interest in local sport proves that
government is committed to sport development in the province.
As we slowly
approach the new year, it will be interesting to see if the province is going to
keep up and maybe promote another team into the PSL and the NFD.