By Nangamso Mabindla
12 January 2005

HAVING produced top sportsmen in boxing, cricket and rugby, Buffalo City is fast developing a reputation as the country's sporting capital.

It is no surprise then that international organisations are prepared to put time and effort into sport development initiatives in the region.

One major project is that of the Australia Africa 2006 Sports Development Programme, an initiative run with the help of the Australian Sports Commission's Ausaid programme.

The Australia Africa 2006 Sports Development Programme was born out a commitment made by Australian Prime Minister John Howard at the 1997 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Scotland to help fund sports development in the Commonwealth.

Former government employee Thoko Mlonyeni took up the challenge when she saw the economic and social hardship faced by youngsters in the Eastern Cape. She left her job to set up a range of projects to fight poverty in the province through sport.

One such project, based in East London, is the Active Community Programme. Here local community clubs are assisted with coaching as well as fund raising and finding sponsorships.

"Come 2006 - when the project finishes - we'll have top coaches," said Mlonyeni, pointing to the benefits to sport in the region.

So far the Active Community Programme has helped various Buffalo City clubs with rugby, cricket and netball.

Sometimes international experts fly in to coach or mentor youngsters.

In 2003 the programme organised a rugby tournament in Berlin and invited Australia's World Cup winning captain John Eales to take attend. "John was impressed with our progress since we started in 2001; when he watched the tournament he liked what he saw," said Mlonyeni.

The Active Community Club has also teamed up with Super 12 outfit ACT Brumbies - Eales' former team - to develop local rugby club coaches.

Project evaluators from the Rand Afrikaans University were impressed with the professionalism of the community clubs such as Mdantsane-based rugby club Winter Rose. "They loved what they saw; the coaching methods, the club itself and the youngsters that were coached," Mlonyeni said. "This programme has been a success."

Looking into the future, Mlonyeni said she would like to see some of the young coaches going over to Canberra in Australia to attend the ACT Brumbies' coaching academy to get more exposure to different coaching methods.

"But we'd also love to see some of our players participating in professional rugby," she added.