Sundowns & Nedbank Award Multipurpose Sport Court To Local School

The Soshanguve South Secondary School in Soshanguve became the seventh recipient of a multipurpose sports court, funded by Nedbank and erected by The Sports Trust.

The handover was conducted on behalf of the Nedbank Cup 2021/2022 season winners, Mamelodi Sundowns on Monday afternoon. The football club’s management team and players were present at the event to witness their chosen school being awarded with the sports court in a bid to support sports development in the community.

‘At Nedbank we are committed to community and sports development from grassroots to professional level. Our partnership with The Sports Trust enables us to fulfil our sponsorship philosophy of investing in the development and upliftment of our communities by leveraging our purpose of money experts who do good. We are pleased to hand over this multipurpose sports court to Soshanguve South Secondary School and extend our gratitude to Mamelodi Sundowns – our 2022 Nedbank Cup winners,’ said Khensani Nobanda, Nedbank Group Executive: Marketing and Communications.

Since 2012 Nedbank supported by The Sports Trust have erected a total of seven multipurpose sports courts worth R2 million each, enabling communities to derive a tangible benefit for their support of sports. These sports courts provide access and opportunity to learners, schools and communities to participate in sports through Nedbank’s long-term investment.

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, added: ‘I am elated to join the Soshanguve South Secondary School in thanking Nedbank and The Sports Trust for the awarding of a much-needed multipurpose sports court, which was facilitated through the generosity of Mamelodi Sundowns, for winning the Nedbank Cup 2022. Programmes like these assist in reversing the trend of transporting children to facilities located outside their residential areas.’

‘I am particularly pleased to note that Soshanguve South Secondary School is the seventh recipient of this Nedbank Sports Trust Development Soccer programme and that the club’s management and players were personally present at the official handover of the sports court,’ Mthethwa said.

Mamelodi Sundowns Chairman, Tlhopie Motsepe, said, “everyone at Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club feels a deep sense of gratitude to have the privilege of nominating Soshanguve Secondary as the recipient of the multi-purpose sports court. The Nedbank Cup is a magical knockout tournament that gives teams from all divisions the opportunity to write their own history and claim glory.

As this year’s champions, we would like to thank Nedbank and the PSL for another scintillating instalment of the competition, as well as all our opponents en route to our final victory. The Nedbank Cup lives up to its title as “The One”; because as we lift this trophy as champions, we also have the honour of uplifting our communities – thanks to The Sports Trust.”

Nedbank and The Sports Trust’s Soccer Development Programme has been running since 2010 and provides much-needed sporting kits and equipment to disadvantaged schools within South Africa, giving their learners the opportunity to participate in sport.

This programme is made possible by The Sports Trust, which is part of the Nedbank Sport Affinity Programme. This year’s recipients were Matale Secondary School (Phokeng, Rustenburg), Lekwakwa Primary School (Tlhabane, Randburg) and Waterkloof Hills Secondary School (Rustenburg).

The Soshanguve South Secondary School was founded in 2009 and their motto is ‘The pulse of greatness’. It currently hosts over 1 600 learners. The school offers various sport disciplines, such as soccer, netball and volleyball. Chess, gymnastics, choir, table tennis and cue sports are also available for the learners. One of the prizes that the school has received, and is proud of, is the title of district champions.

Ecstatic to receive the multipurpose sports courts, the Soshanguve South Secondary School principal, David Mahlangu, said: ‘We would like to thank Nedbank, Mamelodi Sundowns and The Sports Trust for this world-class facility and choosing our school. We believe this will benefit the kids greatly and will improve our community, giving them access to resources that they did not have before. We, as Soshanguve South Secondary, will be better equipped to compete with other schools, thanks to this beautiful facility’.