…. Liswati walks away with award
BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – Eswatini successfully hosted The Regional Annual Sports Awards (RASA) which were held over the weekend.
This is a region five premier event that seeks to celebrate sporting excellence from the ten Member Countries of Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The awarded sports personalities celebrated during the award ceremony held at Esibayeni Lodge in Matsapha.
This was also where Eswatini’s Taekwondo Artist Sihlelelwe Matsebula received his award for being the region’s Junior Sportsman of the Year from Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga.
Matsebula said he was grateful for the award and that it will help him further his life. He also thanked his coach and family for always rallying behind him.
“I’m so happy to have won, I’m glad I’m taking this home, this means a lot to me and my career,” said Matsebula.
Meanwhile, other accolades were bestowed upon athletes, coaches, member countries, journalists and teams that have produced outstanding performances in sport at regional and international level over the past year.
The essence for the glitzy ceremony was to maintain credibility by considering winners of respective Member Country awards as automatic RASA nominees.
Worth noting is that the hosting of the RASA is rotational among the Region five Member countries in alphabetical order. This gives each of the Member Countries an opportunity for a close-up interface with this significant brand.
The first three editions were hosted by South Africa from 2016 to 2018, with Namibia hosting the fourth edition in 2019 before COVID-induced restrictions put a halt to all sporting events including the RASA.
The public will recall that on March 1 , 2023, the ESRC hosted the Eswatini Sports Awards. The RASA therefore presents a glorious opportunity for the local winners to test their mettle against the finest the region has to offer during the eagerly anticipated RASA.
The Minister of Sports said African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region five is one of the five Regions entrusted with the responsibility to develop sport under the African Union.
He said this followed the dissolution of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA), under which Region 5 was known as SCSA Zone VI. The SCSA was established on December 14,1966 and served as a specialized agency of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) for the coordination of the Africa Sports Movement and to utilize sport in the struggle against colonialism and apartheid on the continent.
During the awards ceremony, MNCS Administration Manager Henry Mereka and the Director of sport in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Jameson Ndalama were given special awards for serving the region for ten years. The 10 year of service award is recognition of the length of time one has served in the region.
