OR Tambo Soncini Social Cohesion Games higlights
They say the team with the ‘homeground’ advantage always wins.
That was the case this year as Team Ekurhuleni defended their title when they were crowned the overall winners at the O.R Tambo-Soncini Social Cohesion Games held in the Germiston Stadium on the weekend (October 29-30).
The annual Provincial OR Tambo-Soncini Social Cohesion Games saw thousands of young athletes from across Gauteng compete in Netball, Football, Rugby, Basketball, Athletics, Swimming and Chess, after being selected to represent each of the five provincial regions (Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Johannesburg, West Rand, and Sedibeng), as well as School Sport.
The Guest team from Reggio Emilia, Italy participated in athletics, basketball and swimming. The games bring young athletes and sports stars to compete and build lasting relationships with their European counterparts.
The games brought an exciting atmosphere to the host region and the province with spectacular opening ceremony addressed by the MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Morakane Mosupyoe and the visiting Mayor Luca Vecchi who accompanied Team Reggio Emilia to these games.
In his message of support, Mayor Luca Vecchi said “These are days of celebration, not only to celebrate through sport the friendship between Oliver Reginald Tambo and Guiseppe Soncini, between the South Africa people and the city of Reggio Emilia. This new edition of the OR Tambo-Soncini Social Cohesion Games is a great message of hope for all of us and the for all those who believe in diversity as an opportunity and a future. Today we are here not only to compete but also to create new relationships of friendship and learn more about the culture and history of South Africa, that in Reggio is at home.”
Addressing the participants during the opening ceremony, MEC Mosupyoe said “We remain eternally grateful to the people of Reggio Emilia who stood by our freedom fighters when it was not fashionable. We will never forget that in the 1970s, the city of Reggio Emilia was actively involved in the promotion of the anti-apartheid movement abroad and the support of struggle exiles like Oliver Tambo…Furthermore, words cannot express enough how grateful we are to the Tambo and Soncini families who released their children, and they no longer belonged to them, but they belonged to the world and to the struggle for liberation. To the players this year, we hope that you will be like the Siya Kolisi’s of this world and realize how powerful sport can be in changing your lives and those around you,” she concluded.
The OR Tambo-Soncini Social Cohesion Games which are organized by the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, with support from the Gauteng Sport Confederation, are also held in honor of the liberation struggle icon OR Tambo, a true hero of the nation who helped shape South Africa’s constitutional democracy.
The initiative was born following the forging of close ties between the Gauteng province and the government of Reggio Emilia in Italy.
The two city regions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on economic, social, and technological cooperation, including sports development in October 2016. This led to the inaugural games in 2017 part of the Centenary celebrations of OR Tambo.
The relationship between the two provinces was influenced by the friendship between South Africa’s liberation stalwart, Reginald Oliver Tambo and Giuseppe Soncini, an Italian politician who housed Tambo during his exile years in Italy.
The games give developmental young athletes between the ages of 14 – 19 years the opportunity to participate competitively at a provincial level.
Results for the games were as follows;
Overall Results:
Team Ekurhuleni – Gold
Tshwane – Silver
West Rand – Bronze
Top performers from the games will be selected to compete at the Tricolour Games (Giochi del Tri Color) in Italy in 2023. Three years ago, Team Gauteng was assembled and participated at the 6th edition of the Tricolour Games in Reggio Emelia, Italy from the 7th – 13th of July 2018.
OR Tambo Soncini Social Cohesion Games 2022 Sporting Code Winners
| Football Boys | Gold: West Rand Silver: Schools Sports Bronze: Sedibeng |
| Football Girls | Gold: Ekurhuleni Silver: Tshwane Bronze: Johannesburg |
| Rugby Boys | Gold: School Sports Silver: West Rand Bronze: Johannesburg |
| Rugby Girls | Gold: Sedibeng Silver: School Sports Bronze: West Rand |
| Basketball Boys | Gold: Ekurhuleni Silver: School Sports Bronze: Tshwane |
| Basketball Girls | Gold: Ekurhuleni Silver: Tshwane Bronze: Johannesburg |
| Netball Boys | Gold: Sedibeng Silver: Ekurhuleni Bronze: West Rand |
| Netball Girls | Gold: Tshwane Silver: Ekurhuleni Bronze: Johannesburg |
| Boys II | Gold: Ekurhuleni Silver: West Rand Bronze: Tshwane |
