Byline: Kelebogile Masemola
30 August 2022
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, legendary female athlete Rosina Sedibane-Modiba and former Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane officially launched the Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sports School of Specialisation on Tuesday, 23 August 2022, with a focus on sports and sports science.
Rosina Sedibane Modiba School of Specialisation in Sports, in Laudium aims to foster future sports stars to represent South Africa on the world stage.
The school has been named after Rosina Sedibane-Modiba who was a talented track-and-field athlete during her time.
According to the department, the school is a fully functional sports school that has proficiency in chess, soccer, tennis, basketball and many other sporting codes.
“We want to create sports stars of the future at this school and hope they will do us proud.
We encourage all parents who want to see their children represent this country on the world stage to come to this school to give them the best possible platform,” said Lesufi.
Lesufi urged the learners to protect their school and maintain the integrity of the legacy of Sedibane-Modiba.
“We do not want to read about wrong things in the papers about this school and the children.
Protect the image and integrity of this school and assist Sedibane-Modiba.
When she rests in peace she must say ‘I left a beautiful school for my community,” he said.
The MEC expressed his gratitude towards athletics legend Sedibane-Modiba for allowing the school to be named after her, and pledged for her legacy to be commemorated.
“The way we love you, you have no idea.
When we had the opportunity to change the name of this school, we said we are not changing anything.
We are reaffirming because we want to honour you,” he said.
Lesufi said many people complained about the lack of representation in the national sports teams.
“If you can’t start it within the school premises, you will never get it.
Therefore, the launch of this particular school as a school of specialisation is nothing else but to plant a seed which will drive the transformation agenda in all our sporting codes in all our areas,” he said.
The MEC said each community should have a minimum of five facilities that caters for diverse sporting codes other than soccer and netball.
Various South African sporting stars were present at the school’s opening, including former Bafana Bafana, Mamelodi Sundowns and Al-Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane.
“My talent was spotted when I was playing soccer at my school, so I know how important a platform it can be.
It’s safe to say that without the school, I would never have made it at the highest level, and my life would not be the same.
But at the same time my parents encouraged me to stay at school so that I could support myself after my career, so education was just as important.
After my career in football ended, I went to university and completed my degree in sports science,” said Mosimane.
The MEC thanked the sporting heroes for attending the launch and said their presence was valuable to the growth of learners at the school who aspire to become stars in their respective sporting codes.
“We want real people that will assist our children to grow, and our children must see their stars within the school premises because if you see them within the school premises you will value the school premises.
We want to invest in these future stars and we are serious about this investment,” Lesufi said.
The school is one of two schools of specialisation to be launched by the Gauteng Department of Education, which focuses solely on sports.
