The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) on Tuesday promised to fight the National Sport and Recreation Amendment Bill in every available forum, including in the International Court for Arbitration in Sport.
With the acceptance of the Bill in the National Assembly last week, the government had gone too far, FF+ MP Willie Spies said during debate in the house on the sport and recreation budget vote.
”The FF+ will try to oppose the implementation of the Bill in every legal way possible.
”Our legal team has already been instructed to prepare papers. We will fight it in every available forum right up to the International Court for Arbitration in Sport,” Spies said.
As a result of political interference and pressure by the African National Congress (ANC) and its fronts, such as the youth league, even the Comrades Marathon had become a contentious issue.
It was reported in the media on Tuesday that entries for this year’s marathon had dropped by 20% and that the chairperson of the marathon association had complained that political pressure had forced organisers to change the date of the event from Youth Day to a Sunday.
The damage suffered by the Comrades Marathon was a perfect example of the detrimental effect of government interference in sport in South Africa, he said.
However, the government was not satisfied with sabotaging only the Comrades.
Earlier this month, Boland Athletics announced that all road races scheduled for June 16 had been postponed or cancelled ”in cooperation with” the Western Cape government.
”Has the ANC become so power possessed that it now even wants to prescribe to South Africans how to spend public holidays?”
Under Minister Makhenkesi Stofile’s guidance, South African sport was no longer a symbol of respect, unity and sportsmanship, but of quarrel, discord and breach of faith.
”Sport has become the latest battlefield of the ANC’s power struggle,” Spies said. — Sapa