Then I talked so passionately about our association with the private sector and how excited we were for that partnership. At the time I did not even begin to conceive that our involvement would change so drastically in a space of just few weeks.
I therefore stand here thrilled that our department has once again taken giant strides to prove its commitment in the struggle for a better life for all our young people.
As you might be aware the prospects of this tournament looked bleak as recent as few weeks ago. The thought of the tournament with such a proud history spanning about 18 years flopping, because of the lack of sponsorship, was just too much bear.
It therefore excites me to announce that the Department has decided to come to the rescue of the Bayhill Premier Cup, following the reduced level of sponsorship.
When we learnt of this serious predicament that was threatening to thwart the smooth running of the Bayhill Premier Cup, we felt obligated to intervene with immediate effect.
Given the fact that we were not fully prepared to assume this responsibility so soon, we have since resolved to take over the major sponsorship with effect from next year as our direct intervention in the development initiatives. The details of the exact sponsorship will be made public at the appropriate time after carefully considering budgetary implications.
The Department has been associated with the Bayhill Premier Cup for about five years already and we remain committed to this partnership and have every intention to play a more meaningful role in future as we have just demonstrated.
The history of this tournament from the humble beginnings to where it is today is overwhelmingly compelling. Our ideals of creating legacies for 2010 for all communities begin right here. This tournament is the platform where the young players - stars of tomorrow take their very first steps to stardom.
The players taking part in this year's tournament have every opportunity to be drafted into Bafana Bafana squad that will represent us at 2010 and therefore we are providing the 2010 hopefuls with a vehicle to realize their dreams.
The lack of facilities for football in the Western Cape has been a serious problem for some time but it is now receiving attention from the government. To this end, we remain married to the idea of constructing a world-class multi-purpose stadium at Green Point.
To ensure the process of upgrading the Green Point Stadium was free from political maneuvering, a Special Purpose Vehicle outside of the City of Cape Town, the National and Provincial governments will be set up, to forge ahead with this development.
The economic spin-offs to be derived from the development of Green Point are enormous for the people of Cape Town and the Province as a whole and we are happy that an independent vehicle will be in place to ensure these economic benefits are realized by our people.
The ongoing upgrading of Athlone stadium is progressing very well and it is expected that construction there will eventually close the wind tunnel so that quality football can be played.
As part of our strategy to deliver facilities for football, the Provincial government has approved the construction of a 20 000 seater stadium at Philippi. This move is critically important to ensure that both Ajax and Santos do not take their games away from Cape Town because there are no stadia.
Ladies and gentlemen, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Hanover Park Football Club, for upstaging the best in the game of football to reach the quarter-finals of one of the greatest competitions in the country- the ABSA Cup. Their achievements are remarkable for an amateur team to reach this stage and we wish them luck when their lock horns with the mighty Orlando Pirates on Sunday
Allow me also to acknowledge the achievements of Santos in the ABSA Cup for reaching quarter finals. I wish to congratulate them and wish them well in their match against Tembisa Classic in Durban this weekend.
I want also to acknowledge with great appreciation the real prospects of Vasco da Gama playing in the Premier League. We all hope they will emerge victorious in the play-offs that will decide their promotion to the PSL. With our unwavering support, Vasco will succeed in these play-offs.
If they do succeed and we hope they do, Cape Town will effectively have three teams competing in the Premier league. This will auger well for the future development of football and it would mean more games for the Cape Town soccer fans.
It was a sad moment for the football community of Cape Town when we lost Hellenic and we must collectively ensure this does not happen again.
Ladies and gentlemen, we must appreciate the planned re-location to Cape Town by Manning Rangers and I take this opportunity to welcome them to the football community of Cape Town.
Manning Ranger is a good team with talented players and we must give them all the support they need to be able to progress from Mvela league to the PSL. Certainly this move will impact positively in our efforts to improve the support base of PSL teams at the stadia.
Let me extend a word of welcome to all the teams participating, especially our international visitors, South Nottingham College from the UK, Buckland Beach from New Zealand and Team 2006 from Germany; you are all welcome to the Mother City.
Ladies and gentlemen, the presence of these teams including the juniors in both the Premier and Mvela leagues is undoubtedly a vote of confidence in the ability of Bayhill to organize an event of this magnitude. It also reconfirms the popular view in the soccer fraternity that the Bayhill Cup is a hunting ground for talent.
I am confident that the scouts present here will not prove me otherwise, they will return home with their hands full.
I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to the officials of the department for being proactive. When they learnt of the sponsorship problems they did not hesitate to approach me with a plan.
Let me also take this opportunity once again to thank the organizers of this tournament for not giving up on this wonderful idea when situations were quite threatening.
The amazing growth of this tournament to a point of attracting top teams in PSL and international teams is attributed to your professionalism in organizing and running this tournament.
I wish all the teams a good tournament, may the best team win. I declare the Bayhill tournament open.
For further media enquiries please contact:
Mandla Yeki
Spokesperson for Ministry
Cultural Affairs, Sport and Recreation
Tel: 021 483 9804
Fax: 021 483 9801
Mobile: 082 553 3477
Protea Assurance Building, Green Market Square
Cape Town
