China's Longyuan sponsors new sports complex putting De Aar on the map and smiles on players' faces

De Aar, a 119-year-old former railroad junction city situated in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, unveiled a new multi-million rand sports facility, a project that was completed with the generous sponsorship of China-Longyuan Mulilo, a Chinese-based wind power producer operating in the area.

(Photo courtesy of China -Longyuan Mulilo)

An artificial turf football field with goalpost nets and four rows of galvanized iron seats for spectators have come together to form the new facility. Freshly built ablution facilities with well-appointed change rooms for opposing teams are also located behind the stands. The 10 million rand complex was later renamed the Merino Park Sports Complex after the same moniker used for its immediate neighbourhood.

The idea for the multisports complex came about after a chance encounter with Gregory Afrika, executive member of the Emthanjeni Local Football Association, a branch of the South African Football Association, according to China-Longyuan Mulilo.

At that meeting in Britstown, both parties expressed a common concern about the absence of a suitable grass pitch for local sports teams to compete and practice on. This concern was first relayed before the initial outbreak of Covid-19.

(Photo courtesy of China -Longyuan Mulilo)

Construction of the multisports complex took off in January 2020. However, with the constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic becoming a fact of life only a few months later, the project was placed on hold temporarily. Construction started up again after restrictions were partially relaxed several months later, with the contractor having been required thereafter to abide by strict protocols for the prevention and control of the virus.

The structure of the complex was originally designed to serve the soccer community, but it was later extended to host sports more geared towards women, including the inclusion of netball fields. On April 24, Sipho Sthonga, Mayor of the Municipality of the Emthanjeni Local Municipality, delivered the opening speech on behalf of the three local communities that will stand to benefit from the facility.

“This is a state-of-the-art facility that we will safeguard with all our might,” Sthonga said. "This occasion is really historic for De Aar, especially for soccer development in our area. We've struggled for years to have a facility like this. We really appreciate our private partner, Longyuan Mulilo, for coming up with this facility.”

"It is really huge for us. We are going to use this stadium as our home ground. l can assure you that teams coming down to De Aar must be ready because, as of now, we are going to be a different team."

Several other dignitaries, including Safa deputy chairperson of the Emthanjeni Local Football Association, Deon Stadhouer, all heaped praise on the complex and extended their warm gratitude to the sponsors for the gift.