"The Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) views its sponsorship of more than R550 000 over the next three cricket seasons as an investment in the development of young cricket stars. We want them to fly just as high and even higher as young Eastern Province Cricket stars, Mfuneko Ngam, Robin Peterson and Lazola Dipha."

This is the view of Port Elizabeth Airport Manager, Connie Müller.

The ACSA sponsorship, will specifically be used for Junior Cricket Development in the PE Northern Areas and townships over the next three years. "This is our contribution to empower EP Cricket to produce players not only for the provincial squad, but also the national squad. We believe that this sponsorship will be the instrument to assist EP Cricket achieve their objective of producing more future "Ngam's" for South Africa," says Müller.

"We want to give young cricket players from underprivileged communities the opportunity to be expertly trained in the skills of the game, whilst promoting the game of cricket. Eastern Province as a whole has an abundance of talent. We want to assist EP to bring back the domestic trophies to Port Elizabeth soon."

According to the Eastern Province Cricket Board's Youth Cricket Manager, Russell Domingo, the ACSA sponsorship is of vital importance for development. "The amount of talent in the Northern Areas of Port Elizabeth and in the Townships is enormous. This development sponsorship will serve as a feeder system for the junior provincial side and ultimately for the senior provincial side. Players like Brent Kopps, Garnett Kruger, Mandilake Dipha, and Mpulelo Silwana have all progressed from similar projects and represented Eastern Province in the u/15, u/18 and SA Schools sides. Garnett Kruger was included in the SA A side last season.

EPCB's Executive member responsible for Youth Cricket Portfolio, Mr. Rani Hendricks, commended ACSA and the Development Program on their excellent initiative and commitment especially given the current economic environment in the Eastern Cape.

"We not only see this as a commitment to our Development Program but as a precedent to the establishment of a partnership that goes beyond cricket. This initiative will allow our Development Program to maintain the current high standards and ensure that it remains the envy of the rest of the country. I also take this opportunity of wishing ACSA every success in their business endeavours and trust we can rely on their continuous support," said Mr. Hendricks

© EPCB