By Thapelo Molefe
The revival of school sports is not just a plan, but a firm commitment, according to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.
“We believe that each child in school must be a child in sport,” Deputy Minister Peace Mabe told Parliament during the department’s budget vote on Tuesday.
The department has announced a strong focus on school sports in the 2025/26 budget, with over R125 million set aside to grow youth participation and develop future sports stars.
It has allocated R53.5 million to support 208 school sports programmes at the district level. This money will be used to boost local competitions and help improve school-based sports coordination.
An additional R72 million has been set aside to ensure that 5000 learners can take part in the National Schools Sports Championship.
Mabe said this was being done in partnership with the Department of Basic Education.
“We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which addresses the challenges that prevent the establishment of well-coordinated and seamless sports, arts and culture programmes,” she said.
Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie also spoke about the importance of school sport during his speech. He warned that South Africa could not expect success at the Olympics if school sports was weak.
“You cannot be competitive at the Olympics and elsewhere if school sport is not working,” he said.
He added that thousands of schools were already participating in school sport programmes, and many send teams to national championships.
He also thanked the First National Bank (FNB) for committing to invest in school sports.
“I want to thank FNB who are about to put major investment into school sport for boosting league competition,” McKenzie said.
In addition to funding competitions, the department will use money from the R627 million conditional grant to buy equipment and attire for schools, hubs and clubs.
This grant will also pay for training of coaches, referees and sport administrators.
“We are investing and cultivating our domestic talent,” the minister said, explaining that access and opportunity were key to unlocking the county’s full sporting potential.
However, not all MPs were convinced that the money was reaching learners fairly.
Marlon Daniels of the Patriotic Alliance shared concerns after speaking to school netball players who had just competed in Cape Town.
“They said… we have been wearing [this kit] since last week on Sunday. We only got one item to wear the whole week,” he said.
He called on the minister to investigate how provincial governments were spending the funds meant for schools.
Despite this, Mabe remained confident that the school sport system was being rebuilt.
“We made a commitment to revive school sports,” she said, assuring MPs that the department was serious about youth development and was working to remove the barriers that prevent children from participating.
INSIDE EDUCATION
