The team will assemble in White River from September 18 to 21 to finalise its plans and strategies for the national tournament, which will be held in Seshego Stadium, Limpopo. “The training camp will assist the team to prepare better for the National Indigenous Games Tournament and it will also give the players an opportunity to know each other ahead of the finals,” explained the department’s Sibongile Nkosi.

The selection of the team took place earlier in the year at AJ Swanepoel Stadium in Ermelo where clubs that were victorious in municipal leagues vied for the honour to represent the province at the national tournament in the following codes: Diketo (coordination game), Dibeke (running game), Khokho (running game), Morabaraba (board game), Ncuva (board game), Jukskei (target game), Kgati (rope-jumping), Intonga (stick fighting) and Drie stokkies.

The aim of the selection was to choose a winning team that will represent the province with pride and honour at the national tournament in Limpopo from September 22 to 26.

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“The winning clubs and players will have the honour of representing Mpumalanga at national level,” said Nkosi.
This is the second provincial tournament to be hosted since the formation of Indigenous Games League, which is played in all municipalities of the province from June until July. After the municipal league, it moved to district level and culminated in the provincial selections.

This year’s national tournament will see the participation of learners for the first time who will vie for top honours in the following codes: jukskei, kgati, morabaraba and khokho. The national tournament has been combined with the Schools Indigenous Games Tournament.

“Team Mpumalanga will go into this year’s National Indigenous Festival not to make numbers, but to challenge for top honours at the games. We are going for nothing but glory at the nation

al tournament. As per usual, the province is expected to dominate in khokho, kgati, jukskei and morabaraba,” concludes Nkosi.
Indigenous Games are aimed at promoting cultural activities that have a particular appeal to vast sections of the South African community – young and old, black and white. It goes without saying that they are more than a recreational sport as they play a pivotal role in promoting national unity and social cohesion.