Limpopo rural sports tourism on the drive

Schoonoord – The Secretary-General of Limpopo Sports Confederation (LSC), Puleng Mmotla, heaped praises to Limpopo Provincial Sports Federations for prioritising the bidding and hosting of national and international sport tournaments in rural towns and villages of Limpopo.

Mmotla cited that the much-anticipated hosting of World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) African qualifiers where Southern African neighbours, Botswana and Lesotho will be playing in Mahwelereng and Mokopane from Thursday 29 February to Saturday 2 March 2024.

Mmotla also welcomed a courageous move by Limpopo Handball Federation, led by its President, Thabo Baloyi, for bidding and hosting the National U/17 and U/19 Men’s Handball Tournament on from Thursday 21 to Sunday 24 March 2024 in a rural facility of Peter Nchabeleng Sports Complex in Schoonoord outside Jane Furse in Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality (MLM).

He congratulated the provincial handball federation for its exemplary leadership and resoluteness to develop talent and bolster rural sports tourism.

Mmotla, who was mandated to serve in the local organising committee of the tournament on behalf of LSC, commended the support of South African Handball Federation (SAHF), particularly the SAHF Technical Director, Clifford Morake, for his steadfastness in steering the Limpopo’s rural hosting bid for success. 

“As Limpopo, we are overwhelmed by the commitment by SAHF to offer rural communities an opportunity to host national events as part of building a strong grassroots presence and promotion of handball to communities. This will encounter the common challenge of lack of sport facilities and diversity of sporting activities,” Mmotla said.   

Taking cue from Mmotla, SAHF National Technical Director, Clifford Morake, who is also Tournament Manager, urged local role players such as businesses and local authorities to go all out by sponsoring the federation’s efforts of bringing events of national importance to rural areas.

“There are a myriad of advertising, brand collaboration and sponsorship opportunities for everyone in the hosting province, particularly the Sekhukhune District. There are sponsorship packages such as visibility of your brand on a range of promotional paraphernalia. As SAHF, we are proud to U/17 and U/19 National Senior Male Championship Tournament in rural sport facilities like Peter Nchabeleng Sports Complex in Schoonoord to spread the benefits of sport tourism to rural communities of our country,” enthused Morake.  

In embracing the hosting opportunity, Mandla Matjomane, Executive Member of Makhuduthamaga Sports Confederation said: “We are proud to learn from SAHF that Peter Nchabeleng Sports Complex in Makhuduthamaga Municipality was the first to be earmarked for hosting of this national tournament with the goal of unearthing talent in rural areas. We are convinced that this tournament will play a huge role in the visibility, accessibility and promotion of handball in the rural landscape of South Africa”.  

In conclusion, General-Secretary Mmotla encouraged Sekhukhune residents to support the SAHF U/17 and U/19 National Senior Male Championship Tournament that will be hosted at Peter Nchabeleng Sports Complex, from 21 to 24 March 2024.

“We remind our stakeholders that this national tournament does not only provide opportunities to handball players from the nine provinces of South Africa to know and experience the hidden gems that our rural areas are, but also allow the rural towns to raise their profile and capacity to host events and bolster investment in sport motivated tourism,” he said.