Absa launches new ball game for youth

Morgan Gould, Bafana Defender and Captain of Supersport United grooms future soccer players at Shomang Primary School demonstrating the new Kommunity Sport in a Box game.

Shomang Primary School children demonstrate soccer with the new Kommunity Sport in a Box game.

Sport in a box develops social & math skills while improving concentration and memory

Shomong Primary School in Soweto will be the first among scores of South African schools that will soon benefit from a unique and new patented sports technology. Launched by Absa, a new educational ball game will provide the youth with an opportunity to participate in sport - even in communities that lack sports facilities.

Called ‘Kommunity Sport in a Box©’, and developed by the KSiaBox company, the revolutionary new game will provide hours of fun and thrills for young children. Additionally, the sporting technology aims to contribute to the foundational development of South Africa’s youth, including social interaction and inclusion.

“We are excited about the significant multi-dimensional benefits for communities which the new ball game offers. Besides a multitude of social skills children will accumulate, they will also be taught basic skills in a number of traditional sporting games such as soccer, handball, tennis, cricket fielding and golf,” says Gavin Opperman: Chief Executive of Absa Retail Bank.

He adds that ‘Kommunity Sport in a Box’ also has the ability to facilitate the communication of important social messages. “We all know that sport unites communities and, through this new game, important issues such as HIV/Aids education, Tuberculosis and Malaria prevention can be addressed. This is where the Kommunity Sport in a Box© platform comes in handy.”

Opperman says the game also proves to be valuable for group-play therapy in drug addiction and relapse prevention in older children. “Moreover, early studies suggest that the new ball game also improves numeracy, literacy and mathematics,” he adds.

KsiaBox spokesperson, Renee Zerle says: “More than 50% of South African Schools have little or no sporting facilities. Besides addressing this need, there is also a cost benefit as children will not need to travel long distances to find sporting facilities. The game concept is simple. It involves a learning process with movement within a circle and aims to develop concentration, short-term memory and the improvement of attention span among children.”

“Absa remains committed to sport development in disadvantaged communities and, through its involvement in Kommunity Sport in a Box©, it has recommitted itself to providing access to sporting facilities in schools,” Opperman adds.

“Our involvement doesn’t end here. During the just-ended Absa Premiership, the Coach and Player of the Month visited schools and hosted soccer clinics via the Dream Fields initiative. In other clinics during the initiative, the Sharks and Cheetahs Academies – sponsored largely by Absa – taught aspiring rugby champions some finer play techniques. Some graduates from these academies’ development programmes normally go on to play for provincial teams and even the Boks,” Opperman concludes.