Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi wants the Transnet School of Excellence project revived.
Speaking at a media briefing where the Motsepe Foundation announced a donation of R150-million to school sports and school choral music, Lesufi said it pains him that a project which contributed immensely to local football has gone down the drain.
Patrice Motsepe, chairman of the foundation, said he is keen to come on board and revive the school of excellence.
In 2022, Transnet pulled the plug on its longstanding sponsorship of the school of excellence.
The rail and port company put an end to a development partnership that produced Bafana Bafana players and superstars such as Steven Pienaar, Gabriel “Ninja” Mofokeng, Bernard Parker, Masilo Modabi, Daine Klate, Dillon Sheppard, Shaun Potgieter, Lucky Maselesele and Andile Cele, among others.
Lesufi said: “It hurts so much that Transnet has pulled out from that school project. I did not know about it, I only read in the newspapers about it. Transnet is part of government and I would have persuaded them to stay.
“They invested a lot of money and they cannot just up and leave like that. They did not reap the benefits of their work. To me, it does not make sense.
“Had I known, I would have tried to intervene and assist. But I am happy that Dr Patrice Motsepe has agreed to intervene and help.”
Three years ago, Pienaar lamented the appalling state the school was in.
“When I was there, it was totally different,” he was quoted as saying by the media.
“Transnet pumped in a lot of money into the school because they believed in the project and they were fully behind it.
“Over the last couple of years, the school has been going a bit downward with not enough players coming through for different reasons.
“I don’t know if it’s the financial part of things with sponsors not putting enough money in or what,” added Pienaar, who spent more than a decade playing for some of the best teams in Europe.
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