Johannesburg - The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) says it has made an offer to MultiChoice (DSTV) for the sub-licensing for the Cricket World Cup 2023 and awaits their response.
‘’This move seeks to enhance access to premier cricket content for the masses and reaffirms the commitment to providing the best in sports entertainment to citizens, regardless of their geographic location or economic status,’’ read a statement from the SABC.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of The Guardian Group, Marc Hardwick, says that they are proud to announce Gary Kirsten as their ambassador for The Guardian.
Hardwick says that beyond this, Kirsten is a strong proponent of getting things done right, putting the necessary structures in place to mitigate potential problems, and ensuring there is adequate recourse if things go wrong. ‘’We believe he will bring a lot to this role.’’
Hardwick comes from a background in child protection, having been assigned as a Detective Sergeant to the former Child Protection Unit under the South African Police Force.
He identified a need for training and support structures in South African schools, clubs, and anywhere else safeguarding is needed.
He established The Guardian in 2009, the country’s only complete safeguarding company, providing proactive and reactive structures to protect individuals. This includes police clearances, education and training, implementing safeguarding policies, anonymous reporting, and investigations.
Hardwick says that there are safety structures in place to prevent and attend to injuries, but safeguarding is often overlooked, with sports success first, safety second, and safeguarding last, if at all.
‘’We need to flip this. In light of these global goals of safeguarding within the sports environment, having the positive influence of an international icon like Gary Kirsten will go a long way in helping us achieve these at a local and national level,’’ said Hardwick.
Kirsten said that he was proud to be associated with The Guardian; the work and training that they do in safeguarding and creating safer environments for everyone is important.
‘’I advocate for all coaches and teachers, and anyone involved in sports coaching and education, to have more awareness around safeguarding and to get their safeguarding certificates,’’ said Kirsten.
He recalled his first encounter with safeguarding two years ago as part of a job requirement: ‘’I’d been a coach for a while, so I didn’t think it was needed, but I was honestly blown away by how little I knew about the mechanisms in place for recourse. There is a massive responsibility attached to coaching, and there should be structures around what you say and do. When parents are putting their kids in these spaces, they need to know they’re in good hands,’’ he said.
Kirsten said his journey from an aspiring sportsman to a professional environment showed him how performance is prioritised, often to the detriment of the athlete.
Kirsten further said that in a school or club setting, the damage can be long-lasting for children who are emotionally incapable of dealing with coaching criticism that sometimes borders on abuse.
‘’What happens is that as long as the player can deliver results, they remain a performance tool. When I started coaching, I realised it’s all about how you can build a relationship in such a way that you can get the best out of someone. As a parent, I started to realise how emotional the space actually is. It’s important to know that adults coming into the lives of these children are giving them the best opportunity to thrive. Safeguarding covers a lot of that because parents know the people working with their children have the qualifications and skills to make sure the child leaves their environment a better person with a strong sense of identity,’’ added Kirsten.
Kirsten said that often, parents don’t ask the necessary questions because they’re concerned they might compromise the sports or educational journey of the child. However, in many elite schools the professionalisation of sports is common.
The Star