Maria David
JO-ANN Manuel, Director of Sport, said that the Ministry of Sport, Youth, and National Service is mandated with the promotion and development of sports in the country.
Manuel made these remarks while speaking at the official opening of the Omusati Governor’s Cup on Friday.
The tournament, which started on August 3rd, will conclude on August 5th, 2023.
Manuel indicated that the tournament, hosted by all governors and with financial support from PSTBET, comes in handy to assist their ministry with the delivery of sports development in the country.
“We, therefore, see this project as an opportunity to discover the undiscovered gems in the Omusati constituencies and present them to regional and national sport federations to be polished,” she said.
Equally, Manuel said this is an opportunity to scout talents at this Governor’s Cup, seeing that the national federations cannot make it to all 121 constituencies in the country.
As a ministry, Manuel indicated that they commit to assist the Omusati Governor’s Cup with the human resources to assist them with the logistics, may it be in the preparation stage and the actual competition day.
She emphasized that sport is a discipline with multiple advantages and benefits, and the contribution of sport towards national development is underrated by the majority of leaders, especially here in Africa.
Hence, she said that sport professionalization literally refers to the upliftment of sport codes to be played at a professional level and/or sport as a career.
Manuel noted that sport professionals play for income with which they make a better living for themselves and their families.
Abner Neputa from PstBet Marketing team said that they are proud to sponsor all the 14 Governor’s Cups.
Neputa indicated that as a company that operates in sports, they found it befitting to invest in the sporting talent of the young ones.
“Resources may never be enough, but the little we have as a company is worth sharing,” he said.
He added that they are proud to see the large number of people interested in participating in this initiative.
