Cape Town - Deputy Minister of Sports and Recreation Gert Oosthuizen has called on South Africans to support Team South Africa in its quest to fly the flag and win medals for the country at the upcoming London Olympic Games.
He also called for the support of the SA Paralympic team.
Oosthuizen was speaking during the governance and administration cluster media briefing on Monday.
He said the heavy support that sporting disciplines such as rugby and soccer have received during big tournaments should also be accorded to these athletes as they aim to bring home a dozen medals.
Oosthuizen said in preparation for the games, the team had received R400 million in the last three years from the National Lottery Fund.
This, he said, was a big boost compared to the R90 million committed during the last Beijing Olympics outing.
He said the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee had also contributed R60 million to the team for this year's competitions.
Oosthuizen said the hockey team was yet to qualify and the final qualifying teams would be announced later in the year. The Olympics will kick off in July and end in August.
