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Date
: 14/04/2006
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government
Title: Jacobs: Launch of Bayhill Premier Cup
Keynote address by Western Cape MEC for the Department of
Cultural Affairs, Sports and Recreation, Mr Whitey Jacobs at the
official launch of Bayhill Premier Cup, Erica Park, Belhar
At the launch of the Bayhill Premier Cup exactly a month ago, I
took to the podium to share with the people present at that
function the contribution of the Department in this prestigious
tournament.
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.
For that reason, it 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 realise 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 manoeuvring, 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 realised 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
setter 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 stadiums.
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 Premier Soccer League (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 stadium.
Let me extend a word of welcome to all the teams participating,
especially our international visitors, South Nottingham College
from the United Kingdom, 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 organise 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
organisers 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 organising and running this tournament.
I wish all the teams a good tournament, may the best team win. I
declare the Bayhill tournament open.
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