Community Sports Centre in Mbekweni to open soon
2010-05-27
CONSTRUCTION of the Mbekweni Community Sports Centre next to Desmond Tutu High School, is on track and will be ready for the official opening on 12 June. The chairman of the English Football League, Lord Brian Mawhinney, has agreed to open this centre on the day after the official opening of the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa. This centre is quickly becoming a landmark in the township, says Phil Bland of Hope Through Action, facilitator of the project. “The pitch and car parking area will be completed in the next few days. There will be football and rugby tournaments, dancing, music and other events to celebrate the World Cup,” he added. “We are also delighted to announce a partnership with the Guinness premier rugby club Saracens. Saracens is one of the most respected and well- known rugby clubs in the world and we are excited about the potential of this partnership. “Rugby has been a major force in uniting South Africa and we will be working with Saracens to bring Tag Rugby to Mbekweni, thereby increasing the number of sports codes available to the young people,” he said. “We are grateful for the continued support of many people and organisations and we have nearly secured all the funds for phase 1 of the centre. “We are still seeking further funding of R350 000 to complete the construction of phase 1, R500 000 per year to run the centre and the development programmes, and, eventually, R1 875 000 for phase 2, which includes the 4 outdoor pitches,” he said. The British Football League is supporting the project by contributing monies raised through ticket sales at the 2009 and 2010 Carling Cup Finals at Wembley Stadium in the UK. “But we would love for Paarl businesses to support it. We have support from a number of people, but we need more funds to complete the project,” he said. “We have a partnership with the international non-profit organisation Score, which specialises in community development through sport and recreation, to run the development programmes linked to the centre. “The day to day management of the centre, when it is completed, will be through a local management team,” he said. The centre, which costs R9 million, is designed to be inclusive and will provide year round facilities and a secure environment in which to work with the young people. There will also be offices, training facilities (some of it on Astroturf), spectator areas and provision for local education and health organisations. The facility will also provide a venue for community activities for local residents.
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