SuperSport commits to showcasing more schools sport

SuperSport has launched SuperSport Schools, a ground-breaking initiative aiming to change the future of schools sport in South Africa and the African continent.

As part of the strategy, the pay-channel acquired a majority stake in Schools Sport Live, which will see the business rebranded as SuperSport Schools.

The new venture will aim to identify and expose young talent by broadcasting as many schools sporting fixtures as possible. The production plan will embrace new technology by giving schools access to innovative artificial intelligence-based production to deliver a dynamic multi-screen viewing of schools and youth sport.

Outside of the coverage across SuperSport channels, the SuperSport Schools mobile application will provide parents and other interested parties access to view schools sport anytime, anywhere, live and on-demand.

SuperSport CEO Marc Jury said in a statement that the success of schools sport was fundamental to producing a winning sporting nation.

"This initiative is a natural extension of our mission to play our part to grow the pipeline for South Africa's future sporting heroes. Schools Sport is the foundation from which great sporting nations are built. The stronger the foundation, the brighter our future sporting stars can shine," Jury said.

Proteas netball captain, Bongi Msomi and World Cup-winning Springbok, Lukhanyo Am, will be leading the campaign with the hope of taking SuperSport Schools to every corner of the continent.

Both stars were discovered late in their careers and speak directly to the gap the new platform is trying to close. The focus will be on netball, hockey and rugby for the initial implementation phase, with cricket and water polo following suit as the programme extends.

This initiative will be backed by Nashua, whose engineers will provide a world-class service offering to install, maintain and support the project.

The sponsors will play a key part in rolling out the artificial intelligence automated cameras which are designed to produce and distribute live + highlight content via the mobile application and social/digital channels.

Corporate South Africa and businesses will have an opportunity to be involved in the initiative, with specialised commercial sponsorship packages available to enable and fund the installation of the camera equipment across regions and schools.

Furthermore, SuperSport has also partnered with the MEC of Sports in the Eastern Cape to showcase more sport in the talent-rich region.

"The Eastern Cape has produced many of South Africa's finest sporting stars, we hope our contribution will help to start unveiling talent from all corners of the province," Jury concluded.