In an initiative aimed at supporting the development of basketball in the province, Sasol this month extended a training equipment sponsorship worth over R100 000 to the Mpumalanga Basketball Association.
The equipment includes leather basketballs, coaching boards, metal referee whistles and training marker cones. The sponsorship is a continuation of Sasol’s diverse portfolio of investments in sport, including teams in fenceline communities.
Over the years, Sasol has sponsored various teams at grassroots levels such as amateur football and netball teams, Banyana Banyana, semi-professional women’s football league (the Sasol League), and the Mpumalanga Sports Awards.
The Mpumalanga Basketball Association is a provincial governing body of the men’s and women’s basketball. Its task is to develop the sport and prepare teams to compete at national level. The association has been an affiliate of Basketball South Africa since 2021.
Sport at grassroots level plays a critical role in development of talent, and promotes responsible behaviour among people, keeping them away from the harmful social ills such as crime and alcohol abuse. In an effort to showcase and talent, Sasol throughout the year hosts different tournaments in fenceline communities, including in Mozambique where local teams compete for prizes.
These tournaments include the annual SVP Football and Netball Tournament, which is played in Durban and Secunda, the Indigenous Games held during Heritage Month in September, and the Sports Weekend. This year’s Sports Weekend was held on April 13 – 14 and attracted participants from around Mpumalanga, Johannesburg and Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal. Basketball, tennis, rugby, aerobics, cross country and taekwondo were some of the sporting codes represented at the Sports Weekend.
One of the amateur teams supported by Sasol have competed at national championships, such as the eMbalenhle-based ladies football team, the Sasol-sponsored Sasol Juventus FC, which competed in the Sasol League National Championship held in Bloemfontein in October 2023
