Parliament - President Jacob Zuma has urged the public to support Bafana Bafana and the Springboks in their upcoming tournaments.
Bafana Bafana will be playing against Iraq in the first match of the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Springboks will participate in the British and Irish Lion Tour Series respectively.
Delivering his first State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Wednesday, President Zuma affirmed that sport was a powerful nation-building tool.
"Working together we must support all our national teams from Bafana Bafana to the Proteas and the Springboks; from Banyana Banyana to Paralympians. Our teams can only do well with our support," he said.
President Zuma congratulated South African national teams for their performances in the past week.
"The country's women's netball team has done us proud by winning the Tri-Nations Netball Challenge.
"Congratulations to the Sevens Springboks who have become the IRB Sevens World Series Champions and not forgetting the Blue Bulls who have won the Rugby Super 14 finals in a convincing fashion."
He said it was clear that government needed to invest in sports development on a large scale.
"We will speed up the revival of school sport and ensure that it forms part of the school curriculum. In addition we will ensure that the provision of sport facilities in poorer communities receives priority," he said.
