For the past 15 years, the Sporting Chance Street Sports Programme has given thousands of children the opportunity to participate in sport. Picture: Brenton Geach
THE streets of Langa turned into makeshift sporting grounds for local youngsters who showcased their talents.
Local organisation Sporting Chance took over the streets of Langa on Friday afternoon to host a tournament with the aim of highlighting the positive impact sports can have in disadvantaged communities.
Sporting Chance is a sports coaching and developing organisation established in 1990 to break down barriers and show how sports can positively change young lives. The organisation has since worked with more than 250 000 children and trained in excess of 17 000 coaches.
On Friday afternoon, Sporting Chance hosted the Street Sports Championship, where children from the area battled it out to win the coveted Sporting Chance trophies.
Hundreds of youngsters from Langa, Ocean View and Khayelitsha spent seven weeks showcasing their skills in several sporting codes. This included cricket, soccer and netball, which the learners played on the streets in their communities.
Sporting Chance’s founder Brad Bing said their street sports programme had been running for the past 15 years.
“We organise it by sorting children under the age of 14 into teams of six for soccer and cricket, and seven for netball,” he said.
“At least two members of each team must be girls, which is part of our goal to get as many children as possible away from negative influences on the streets, as well as prioritise education and a sports culture.”
The cricket component of the championship is endorsed by Cricket South Africa. Bing said he was excited to represent this programme.
“It’s so exciting to present a platform that allows for raw and natural talent to be identified and nurtured, and in addition to that, the joy this event brings to the children participating is just incredible,” he added.
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