Daily Maverick

The Business of School Sport: Are Children Paying the Price?

Episode Summary

From R9,500 commercialisation conferences to millions of livestream views, school sport is increasingly being drawn into a professionalised, high-pressure economy. Coaches, psychologists and parents say its educational and developmental purpose is being displaced by performance and profit, while legal experts warn that children risk being reduced to unpaid entertainers in a rapidly expanding youth sports industry. Daily Maverick’s Takudzwa Pongweni reports.

Episode Notes

From R9,500 commercialisation conferences to millions of livestream views, school sport is increasingly being drawn into a professionalised, high-pressure economy. Coaches, psychologists and parents say its educational and developmental purpose is being displaced by performance and profit, while legal experts warn that children risk being reduced to unpaid entertainers in a rapidly expanding youth sports industry. Daily Maverick’s Takudzwa Pongweni reports.

Reporting by: Takudzwa Pongweni 
Edited by: Anda Tolibadi 
Filmed by: Malibongwe Tyilo 
Produced by: Emilie Gambade 
Creative input by: Malibongwe Tyilo 
Sub-edited by: Robyn Leary 

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