The KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial Festivals will resume for the 2021-’22 season.
South Africa’s leading cricket development programme, KFC Mini-Cricket, is set to resume when the provincial festivals start on 18 February across the country.
The season restart coincides with the 12th anniversary of KFC’ sponsorship of the Mini-Cricket programme, which provides an enjoyable but, more importantly, safe environment for the kid to get active and have fun.
The KFC Mini-Cricket programme has touched the hearts of many communities as it introduces kids not only to the fundamentals of cricket, but also to traits and values to become the best versions of themselves. It forms a critical foundation step in the development of South Africa’s future cricketing heroes and is the first step in Cricket South Africa’s “pipeline to the Proteas”.
The KFC Mini-Cricket 2020-’21 campaign was an unorthodox one, as the programme had to adapt to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The usual blockbuster festival had to be scaled down into a series of smaller activations and the annual seminars, which usually attract the top mini-cricket volunteers and administrators in one venue, and had to be hosted virtually.
However, with the country’s lockdown restrictions reduced to Level 1, the programme organisers are thrilled to bring smiles once again to the kids by allowing them to do what they love, playing the game of cricket.
“We are really excited that we can host provincial festivals again,” said KFC CSI Manager Andra Ferreira Nel. “As with everything else in South Africa, the programme was heavily affected by the pandemic and through our season theme of ‘Imvuselelo’ (Recovery) we are looking forward to continuing our journey back to normality by hosting the festivals.”
Through the help and hard work of the KFC Mini-Cricket coaches and coordinators, the kids will once again get an opportunity to play their favourite sport and create new friendships and unforgettable moments of laughter on the field in a more safe and secure way.
“These inspiring individuals epitomise all that is great about South Africa,” Ferreira Nel said. “Their selfless dedication allows the programme to be all-inclusive and teach the kids important life skills while they get active in a fun and healthy way by playing a sport they love.
“They champion the spirit of community by keeping the mini-cricket fire burning in their corners of our country, and we could not be more proud to partner with them for the coming season.”
However, safety is still an important factor in ensuring a safe and secure environment for the mini-cricketers while they showcase their talent on the field.
“We are excited to resume the 2021/22 KFC Mini-Cricket season,” reassured CSA Mass Participation Manager David Mokopanele.
“However, we are still aware that the pandemic has not ended, and safety will still be a priority with all protocols still having to be observed in the upcoming seminars and festivals.
“The majority of our administrators and volunteers have been vaccinated. We hope this will go a long way towards increasing the safety within the KFC Mini-Cricket season, allowing us to get more kids active for a sustained period this season.”
Since the inception of the programme, a total of 2,5 million kids have played KFC Mini-Cricket and more than 120 players have gone on to represent various national teams. More than 6 600 schools across the country have joined the programme.
About KFC Mini-Cricket
KFC Mini-Cricket provides a platform for kids in South Africa to have fun and get active. KFC Mini-Cricket is the largest grassroots development sports programme in South Africa and is also an essential building block for learning cricketing basics and entrenching a love for the game.
In the previous full season 2019-’20 there were more than 126 000 kids from over 6 600 schools active in the KFC Mini-Cricket programme who are coached by over 13 600 volunteer coaches.
Year on year there are a minimum of 45 000 matches played each year. KFC has sponsored KFC Mini-Cricket since 2010, and in the 2012-’13 cricket season KFC became the title sponsor of the KFC T20 Internationals.
