Mutoya sings Rasa praises
LIMBA MUPETAMI
African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 CEO Stanley Mutoya has praised the Regional Annual Sport Awards (Rasa) on the eve of the 2019 edition taking place in Windhoek.
Mutoya said the event has become a household brand in Africa, as AUSC Region 5 is the only region hosting an event of this magnitude.
He added the event always allows for interaction with top athletes in the region. “The likes of South African Olympic champion Caster Semenya, who has won awards twice, as well as Wayde van Niekerk, have and will grace the sports event,” Mutoya said. He said Rasa has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception in 2016, when only five countries participated. Now all 10 Region 5 countries participate.
“We started with only a few countries, but now we have 10; all of which are now hosting national sports awards, which automatically qualify them for Rasa.”
Mutoya said the awards event has pushed many athletes to growth internationally, which allowed them to be nominated. With many events being hosted, finance plays a big role and Mutoya said they have received attention from big corporates like Nike, which is also expected to jump aboard the Rasa ship.
Namibian para-athlete Ananias Shikongo is nominated in the sportsmen of the year with a disability category with South African Ndodanzi Jonathan Ntutu (athletics T12) and Angolan footballer Celestino Elias Antonio.
He said he is exited and hopes to walk away the victor. The Region 5 awards include categories that will recognise athletes, coaches, member countries implementing regional programmes, as well as journalists and teams that have produced outstanding performances at regional and international level. The nominees are drawn from the winners of sports awards held in the 10 member countries - Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The previous three editions of awards event were pre-recorded, but this Saturday it will be broadcast live by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). The awards are now being hosted on rotational basis, after South Africa hosted all the previous editions.
Mutoya said the event has become a household brand in Africa, as AUSC Region 5 is the only region hosting an event of this magnitude.
He added the event always allows for interaction with top athletes in the region. “The likes of South African Olympic champion Caster Semenya, who has won awards twice, as well as Wayde van Niekerk, have and will grace the sports event,” Mutoya said. He said Rasa has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception in 2016, when only five countries participated. Now all 10 Region 5 countries participate.
“We started with only a few countries, but now we have 10; all of which are now hosting national sports awards, which automatically qualify them for Rasa.”
Mutoya said the awards event has pushed many athletes to growth internationally, which allowed them to be nominated. With many events being hosted, finance plays a big role and Mutoya said they have received attention from big corporates like Nike, which is also expected to jump aboard the Rasa ship.
Namibian para-athlete Ananias Shikongo is nominated in the sportsmen of the year with a disability category with South African Ndodanzi Jonathan Ntutu (athletics T12) and Angolan footballer Celestino Elias Antonio.
He said he is exited and hopes to walk away the victor. The Region 5 awards include categories that will recognise athletes, coaches, member countries implementing regional programmes, as well as journalists and teams that have produced outstanding performances at regional and international level. The nominees are drawn from the winners of sports awards held in the 10 member countries - Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The previous three editions of awards event were pre-recorded, but this Saturday it will be broadcast live by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). The awards are now being hosted on rotational basis, after South Africa hosted all the previous editions.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article