SPORT NEWS - The Thembalethu sports grounds are getting a much-needed upgrade in the form of a new sports hall/clubhouse and three 36-seater steel-structure pavilions at the soccer and rugby fields. When George Herald visited the site recently, work on the clubhouse was at an advanced stage.
"After many years, it was recognised that the stadium is a white elephant and that the field is one of the worst in George," said Castro Fuba, secretary of the Thembalethu Sport Committee. "The field has become so bad that no official Safa league games are scheduled here."
The new clubhouse will accommodate boxing, karate, fitness or wellness classes and sports meetings. The projects are jointly funded by the Integrated Urban Development Grant (IUDG) and the George Municipality.
According to the manager for Sport in the George Municipality, Granville Campher, the municipality is developing a sport masterplan. In accordance with the council’s sport policy of ensuring that the sports community has a common voice representing their needs, the Thembalethu Sport Committee was constituted and will assist the municipality in managing the facility to the benefit of users.
One of the supporting structures for the grandstand
With the input received from the community, particularly the sports end users, the municipality can systematically address the sports infrastructure backlogs and expansion requirements.
"The Sports Development Section is delighted with the good working relationship that currently exists between the community and the section and we believe that this is a foundation to ensure the improvement and management of sport infrastructure in future," said Granville.
Fuba said the sports community is looking forward to working closely with the municipality. He emphasised that the new clubhouse will cater solely for sport activities and will be monitored and managed by the sport committee. He hopes that space will eventually be provided to accommodate cricket too.
Fuba said they are very excited about the development. "We all know that sport is one of the vehicles that can keep our children away from negative activities such as drugs and alcohol abuse. In this way, having a high-class sport facility could help save many lives."
He said that Thembalethu residents are already benefitting from the development, as locals living close by were employed in the project.
Fuba asked residents to stand together and fight against vandalism at the stadium, as this is the only facility in Thembalethu that is currently being upgraded, and thanked them in advance for keeping an eye on their sport property.
The Sport Committee Secretary, in Thembalethu, Castro Fuba in front of the clubhouse
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