Times of Eswatini

Scara Thindwa, KFC start to Olympics – EOCGA/ ESRC

- Chris Dlamini Frederick Mngomezulu ( EFA CEO) Mzuvukile Makhanya – John Wesley Primary School

“I want to say this is where it all starts. Only these platforms can help us develop the future athletes who can represent us.”

MBABANE – Developmen­t is the key word f or Eswatini Olympic a n d Commonweal­th Games Associatio­n ( EOCGA) and the Eswatini Sport and Recreation Council ( ESRC).

Sports demand developmen­t from a tender age to have the best athletes who can compete internatio­nally and make an impact in big sporting events like the Olympics and Commonweal­th Games.

In their brief remarks yesterday at the Scara Thindwa Foundation Schools Games 2023, inside the Mountain View Hotel, both EOCGA and ESRC were represente­d. This was on Thursday afternoon.

“Let me start by congratula­ting the foundation and its founder, Scara, whom I grew up hearing a lot about as he hoisted our flag in SA. I must also thank KFC Alliance because over E800 000 in one year is a serious sponsorshi­p in Eswatini.

ResponsibL­e

“I grew up eating KFC and we used to save our pocket money to treat ourselves on weekend and now as EOCGA we are responsibl­e for sending teams or athletes to internatio­nal games.

“I want to say this is where it all starts. Only these platforms can help us develop the future athletes who can represent us. We went to the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in 2021 and the Commonweal­th Games in Birmingham last year, but it all starts from such developmen­t platforms as the Scara Foundation,” EOCGA Chief Executive Officer ( CEO) Maxwell Jele said in his remarks.

He also noted that this was all happening at a time when EOCGA was set to open its new offices at Lobamba and also celebrate 50 years of existence next Saturday while the ESRC has the National Sports Awards lined- up.

Commended

Jele also commended the presence of the Education and Training Ministry, saying that also showed commitment from government, which was essential as this project can produce future Olympic stars. Meanwhile, ESRC CEO Darius Dlomo honoured Scara as the best ever soccer player Eswatini produced to date with Mangaliso ‘ Man O Man’ Mdluli, his personal second best.

“To say Scara played well is an understate­ment but he was exceptiona­l, the best ever seen from our shores, the rest can follow. As

“We’re happy to see all associatio­ns come out to join us here today ( yesterday). The foundation has been working with SNAT through the sports body for years now while we must also bring it out that Scara is hugely backed by Kaizer Chiefs Managing Director Kaizer Motaung. As soon as we are done here, Motaung will be getting a report from us that we’ve successful­ly re- launched the programme. We hope and trust that at least two days a week will be allocated for sports, say Wednesday and Friday.”

“Scara is still Eswatini’s finest player in 60 years. He was honoured by CAF in 2007 as the finest player for 50 years, but now its 60 years. This is only a re- launch as we had launched this in 2019 but COVID- 19 stopped everything. We’re happy to

ESRC, our hearts warm up for events that speak to the developmen­t of sports talent. This one is about unearthing legendary talent in soccer so it interests us.

“If anything we should also be celebratin­g our past achievemen­ts because the foundation’s work is there, but no one is bringing it out yet they long partnered with schools and played tournament­s. We need to know who is where and how they are doing,” Dlomo said.

He pledged their support to the reignite the energy and expectatio­n we had as we had set out to do a commendabl­e job. We now have drum majorettes involved, which in other countries are cheerleade­rs. We thank KFC for this as it is not only supplement­ary but also a platform to the developmen­t of the girl child. We see the programme goes beyond the borders as our children go on to get special training in South Africa.”

“We are happy with what KFC and The Scara Thindwa Foundation are doing for us who happen to love drum majorettes and we believe this sponsorshi­p will definitely go a long way in making the sport improve.”

“We love the kind gesture done by KFC today and giving back to the community means a lot to us who love KFC.”

course and thanked KFC for the gesture, which he said would go a long way in impacting the country’s youth positively. Meanwhile, the Eswatini Football Associatio­n ( EFA) Chief Executive Officer presented Scara, Foundation Chairman Reverend David Matse and KFC CEO Nigel England as well as Bheki Gama from Education and Training Ministry with the senior national team Sihlangu replicas.

Additional informatio­n by Mengameli Mabuza

 ?? ( Pic: Mengameli Mabuza) Sandile ‘ Chief’ Dlamini ( Scara Foundation member and ex- Manzini Wanderers director) ?? The Scara Thindwa Foundation and their partners posing for a group picture during the launch of the Scara Thindwa sponsorshi­p from KFC at Mountain View Hotel, formerly Mountain Inn Hotel, in the capital city on Thursday afternoon.
WHAT OTHERS SAID;
( Pic: Mengameli Mabuza) Sandile ‘ Chief’ Dlamini ( Scara Foundation member and ex- Manzini Wanderers director) The Scara Thindwa Foundation and their partners posing for a group picture during the launch of the Scara Thindwa sponsorshi­p from KFC at Mountain View Hotel, formerly Mountain Inn Hotel, in the capital city on Thursday afternoon. WHAT OTHERS SAID;

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