The following remarks were delivered at a press conference by Minister McKenzie in Johannesburg on Friday evening.
As the Minister responsible for sport in the country, I am thrilled that SuperSport and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) have reached an agreement through which the public broadcaster will be broadcasting tomorrow’s Rugby Championship Test match between the Springboks and the All Blacks.
Marking 30 years of democracy of our nation, this once-off landmark event will be a celebration of rugby’s greatest rivals meeting each other on African soil 30 years after their first clash in post-apartheid South Africa. It is commendable that our country’s two leading sports broadcasters have joined hands for this match to ensure that all South Africans can experience the thrills of seeing our beloved Boks clash against their most legendary opponents, the All Blacks, as we celebrate what will be a momentous occasion, whatever the outcome.
I would like to publicly acknowledge the generosity
of SuperSport in their willingness to come together with the public broadcaster to ensure that this once in-a-lifetime historic game is available on SABC. This once-off gesture by SuperSport to South Africans is in line with their ongoing commitment to continue being a major contributor to sport in our country. I extend my personal appreciation to them, as well as thanking them on behalf of all rugby-loving fans.
As a country, we have made remarkable progress in uniting a once-divided society, and rugby can justly lay claim to being a major catalyst in bringing South Africans together as one in our diversity. We are immensely pleased that all South Africans have this opportunity to witness and celebrate this historic occasion.
Our late President Nelson Mandela’s belief that sport possesses the unique power to unite people like nothing else remains a guiding truth, as we continue to see it bringing our nation closer together. We are indeed stronger when we come together.
This event is a product of our very
powerful Government of National Unity under the leadership of President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa. We are experiencing the dividends of what happens when people embrace a patriotic spirit of working together for the good of the South African people.
Source: South African Government News Agency