Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe on Monday bemoaned the poor performance by the country’s national soccer and Olympics teams, saying progress had ground to a halt.
This indicated that sports development had not always been up to scratch, Motlanthe told delegates at a two-day sports and recreation indaba at Gallagher Estate in Midrand.
“For instance, much to the amazement of many, we won the Confederations of African Football in 1996, only to start backsliding from then on until we failed to qualify for any international competition,” he said.
“The same seems to hold true for the Olympics. Overall, our athletes have been successively going poorly at continental competitions and Olympic level.”
Motlanthe highlighted some of problems in the county’s sports, like the lingering lack of transformation in some sporting codes, both on the field and at the level of administration and management.
Transformation
He said steps needed to be taken to address these problems and achieve transformation, unity and development goals.
The same problems had been pointed out at an indaba in 2008 when delegates highlighted the slow pace of change in sport.
Motlanthe said he hoped Monday’s indaba would bring about desirable outcomes.
It aimed to examine the issue of transformation and whether the legislative framework allowed room for accountability and autonomy.
The conference would look at possibly including sports and recreation in the government’s new growth path and government priorities. — Sapa