R30m for top KZN sports academy

Durban – The KwaZulu-Natal cabinet on Wednesday approved a government contribution of R10 million annually, for three years, towards the construction and management of a world-class sports development centre in Durban.

The academy, including a football school, will be constructed at Hoy Park, close to Durban’s beachfront, to groom young sportsmen and women to become professionals in different sporting codes.

The announcement was made in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday by South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan and KZN Premier Senzo Mchunu.

The money will be used for the construction and management of the academy.

Mchunu said his government was in search of the world’s best practices to improve the quality of football.

“It is for these reasons that we are teaming up with eThekwini Municipality, IEC Sports International and Safa to develop this facility.”

He said since the World Cup in 2010, the province had been engaging roleplayers on how to use soccer as a tool to help tackle socio-economic challenges and teach positive values and life skills.

Jordaan said most professional football teams in South Africa had players from KZN and the academy was a first step towards building a winning team.

The Mercury