Sascoc sign multi-million deal for Opex

Hendricks could not suppress his excitement about the new partnership, which will be unveiled to the public at a gala dinner in the coming weeks.

 “What a way to start the new year. Opex will be up and running soon. Our target is beyond the R100 million required to run the programme in 2023. Sascoc will sign a couple of million rands in sponsorship deals with three more top companies in the coming weeks, which guarantees us more than R100 million in total”, Hendricks beamed. 

The programme, which supports athletes who have the potential to qualify and win medals for the country at the highest level, was suspended in 2018 due to financial constraints and is expected to resume in March.

Hendricks confirmed to SABC Sport he and Sascoc Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nozipho Jafta will map a way forward regarding the new deal.

“We are engaging the federations to recommend the athletes with the potential to be part of Opex. The Sascoc high-performance unit is handling the project. We are going big this year”, said Hendricks, who replaced Gideon Sam as president in 2020.

“When I took over Sascoc the ship had already sunk. But it is afloat and bringing in millions to benefit the athletes. I am happy with the progress over two years. 

We have an eight-year plan which ends in 2028 to elevate the athletes. Together with the CEO, we are working hard to restore the dented image of Sascoc,” added Hendricks. 

By Charles Baloyi