Hon. Minister launches E140 000 Building Society/ Tennis sponsorship

07 May 2019

The Honourable Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Harries Bulunga today officially launched a sponsorship worth E140 000 from the Swaziland Building Society to the Eswatini National Tennis Association.

The launch was held at Mountain Inn earlier this morning and marked the continuation of a partnership which has lasted for well over ten years. The lump sum will go towards financing the Tennis Association’s various programs including coaches’ development, training camps and both junior and senior tournaments among others.

Speaking during the launch, the Honourable Minister thanked Building Society for contributing towards the development of tennis in Eswatini.

“I know that the relationship between the Society and the Association has been going on for well over ten years now. As a clear sign of their commitment to developing Tennis in Eswatini, the Society has almost doubled the sponsorship package in the last three years. Therefore, I take this moment to thank the Society, on behalf of His Majesty’s government, for committing such huge amounts to developing Tennis in Eswatini,” Bulunga said.

Making his own remarks, Tennis Association President Maxwell Jele also lauded the Society’s contribution to developing tennis in the country.

“The SBS sponsorship towards the tennis program has been at the centre of all other developments we have realized. It has been a significant catalyst for encouraging other stakeholders to get involved in the investment of the sport. As we gather here today, we would like to recognize this contribution as a pillar in our quest to advance the sport of tennis in the Kingdom,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Society’s Managing Director Timothy Nhleko said his organisation believed in the potential of tennis in Eswatini.

“We still believe that groundwork in tennis is still under construction but the potential is big and through tennis we believe that a positive impact to the entire country can be achieved,” Nhleko said.

The launch was also attended by Under Secretary in the Ministry of Sports Nhlanhla Motsa, Director of Sports Lucky Sihlongonyane and Eswatini Sport and Recreation Council CEO Darius Dlomo among others.