Nkosenhle Sibisi

The KwaZulu-Natal Department Sports & Recreation (KZNDSR) together with the KwaZulu-Natal Sports Confederation (KZNSC) hosted the 7th KwaZulu-Natal Sports Awards on Saturday night.

The prestigious sports event was held at the Durban International Convention Centre, Durban. The hosts were Gagasi FM’s Alex Mthiyane and Durban media personality, Phindi Gule-Burley. 

This year’s awards were themed “Celebrate 25 years of sporting excellence!”

The annual awards are one of the biggest in the sporting calendar and they are aimed at acknowledging the athletes, administrators, coaches, media and teams who work tirelessly and have excelled in their respective fields during the period of 01 August 2018 to 31 July 2019. 

Some of this year’s categories were Indigenous Games Team of the Year, Sports Journalist of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, New Comer of the Year, Sports Personality of the Year and others. 

The event also holds the MEC Special Awards like Lifetime Achiever, Against All Odds Award Honour and the Posthumous Outstanding Performance for people who have dedicated their lives to sporting tradition and the culture of the Province. 

Durban based athletics team, Phantane AC walked away with the Team of the Year Award.

Phantane’es athlete Sipho Mbanjwa said that he is very happy with the award.

“This award shows that our talent and passion for athletics is being recognised,” said Mbanjwa.

New Comer of the Year award went to Mzuvukile Primary School Under -12 soccer-team based in the North Coast of the province, Richards Bay.

Mzuvukile Primary School under-12 soccer team.

Mzuvukile’s Sibongiseni said that as the school they are very happy to see the efforts being made by the province in grooming young talent.

“These boys work hard and they deserve this award. They are currently in Spain, competing with other countries at the Danone Nations Cup,” said Sibongiseni.