Kingston, 22 November 2023 (JIS) - Jamaica and the Republic of South Africa have signed a Cooperation Agreement to strengthen collaboration in several critical areas of sports.

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, and South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Honourable Nocawe Noncedo Mafu, signed the agreement during a ceremony at the ROK Hotel in downtown Kingston on Tuesday (November 21).

Speaking during the ceremony, Minister Grange said the cooperation programme will provide opportunities for the development of frameworks to explore data collection and mapping.

She further indicated that it will facilitate collaboration in tertiary research, joined conferences and the supervision of postgraduate students.

There will also be collaboration amongst respective federations, including the use of sport and sport signs facilities in both countries.

Among the disciplines that will be targeted under the cooperation framework are athletics, football, rugby, netball, rowing, and cricket.

In her remarks, Minister Mafu expressed appreciation for the signing of the Agreement.

“This is one programme of cooperation that we have been waiting for because we know that by working together with the Government of Jamaica there is a lot that South Africa can learn, particularly around the issue of school sports and university sports and grassroot sports,” she said.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Government of South Africa, led by Minister Mafu, who are in Jamaica on a one-week study tour of the island’s sports programme.

The visit, which began on Tuesday, is a follow-up to the countries’ political consultations last year, during which South Africa expressed an interest in better understanding Jamaica’s sports development model.

Minister Grange will host the South African delegation in discussions about Jamaica’s sports policy framework, national sports organisations, anti-doping regime, facilities management, and sports financing.

The visitors also received presentations from the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association and Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association.

They will visit institutions, including the University of Technology and the GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sports.

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