At the banquet to bid farewell and good luck to the SA team bound for the London Olympics eight years ago, the then sports minister Fikile Mbalula gave a speech. It was not long, but, man, was it fierce, full of guts and thunder with more war metaphors than could be counted. 

He roared at his brave “forces” to march to England and come home victorious warriors. We shall fight them on beach volleyball courts, landing grounds fields, streets and hills. We shall never surrender. Adoring sports administrators lapped it up...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.