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SBS SERVES UP E150 000 FOR TENNIS

14/07/2022 08:41:00 Sanele Jele

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MALKERNS – the Swaziland Building Society (SBS) has rained E150 000 to Eswatini National Tennis Association (ENTA).

This was announced by SBS Managing Director Mbali Sibanyoni last night. The presentation was held at Malkerns Club. Present during the sponsorship launch was Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga, Eswatini Olympics Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA) CEO Maxwell Jele, ENTA President Derick Jele and Eswatini Sports and Recreation Council (ESRC) CEO Darius Dlomo, among others. “We have not fully recovered from the pandemic’s effect to the economy but nonetheless, hopes are slowly re-emerging and we will continue to strive for better days as a business. With that mentioned, the SBS has reached a decision to sponsor the association with E150 000 towards the 2022/2023 Tennis Development Programme,” said Sibanyoni.

She said they believed this amount would assist in ensuring that some of the activities planned by the association were executed accordingly. “It is with no doubt that, we still have a long way to go as a kingdom in terms of developing sports to help us compete with other countries even better and I’m happy to acknowledge that the Association has already began that journey,” she said. “As we celebrate our 60th anniversary as an organisation, we are grateful to have nurtured a partnership of over 15 years together with the Eswatini National Tennis Association of which is something we still value,” said Sibanyoni.

Regions

She said that in the recent tournaments, they also noted that there had been a growing number of teams from other regions like the Shiselweni Region, in particular which was something that seem to have died out over the years. “This has presented opportunities for the less developed communities to also participate in the tournaments regardless of the lack of tennis courts across the country but we believe that the association will ensure that this does not remain so forever as costly as they may be,” she said. She also highlighted that they have also learnt that there were now individuals from the kingdom ranking in the International Tennis Federation. “I believe it is a result of the increasing number of tournaments hosted by the association. As they say, ‘practice makes perfect’,” she said.

She pointed that the more tournaments hosted, the more these athletes could test their strengths and further polish their talent. She also said the reason for continued support was because, the association’s committee continued to exhibit some of the values they held as organisation, which included integrity and accountability. She also said they were informed of the Lobamba Tennis Olympia Centre revamp plans which were already underway. “We have no doubt that upon completion; the centre will be at its best again, attracting international acts and further putting the kingdom in the map,” she said. The minister, on the other hand, dubbed SBS as one of local sport’s greatest partners.