BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MBABANE – The Regional Sports Awards (RASA) are coming back with a bang.
This was revealed by Darius Dlomo when detailing the preparations that have been made so far towards the 2023 RASA’s which will be held in the country on June 24. Dlomo revealed this in a media briefing in MBABANE today.
“As a country, we have made all the necessary preparations so there will be no embarrassments as we host our guests from these 10 countries, which are mostly from the Southern African Development Region (SADC). Tourism, the venue, as well as the accommodations and entertainment have all been prepared,” said Dlomo.
He further thanked government structures that have supported the preparations, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, as well as the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) for providing security.
“Everything is coming together. We are happy as Emaswati that it will be the first time that there are up to eight ministers from different countries attending the awards, as we usually host only one or two. This shows a great enthusiasm in Eswatini hosting the awards this year,” Dlomo added.
The Regional Annual Sports Awards (RASA) are returning after a three-year Covid-19 induced sabbatical.
Traditionally, the event is held in May to correspond with the Africa Unity celebrations. The RASA are organised in the month of May around Africa Day to magnify and celebrate Africa’s rich sporting heritage.
The Awards are meant to recognise and celebrate outstanding performances and meritorious service to sport by the Region’s athletes, coaches, administrators and journalists.
The event has taken the Region by storm since its inauguration in 2016 in South Africa. It was held for three years in a row in South Africa before moving to Namibia in 2019, marking the first episode of the rotation among member countries
The African Union Sports Council Region 5 comprises Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
These 10 Member countries are expected to host their own National Sports Awards preceding the RASA.
Winners of the countries’ sports awards become nominees for the RASA in ten of its twelve categories of the programme.
The AUSC Region 5 is the sports arm of the African Union (AU).
The main aim of the AUSC Region 5 is to use sport to achieve peace, integration and unity in Africa. The mandate includes coordination of sports development and sport for development within the Region and ensuring high performance and socio-economic transformation of societies through sport.
