DA congratulates Ngoepe on ground-breaking MLB debut

Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance (DA) has congratulated Gift Ngoepe on becoming the first player from the African continent to make his debut in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old Ngoepe, from Polokwane, marked the occasion by getting a single for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In a press statement on Friday, the DA said:

The DA is proud to see a rising star of Ngoepe’s calibre break barriers to become the first African-born player in a Major League baseball game. He has done our nation proud.

We encourage other aspirant sports players to use Ngoepe’s achievement as an inspiration for them to reach the highest levels of success.

Ngoepe was rated by Baseball America as the “Best Defensive Infielder” in the Pirates minor league each of the last five seasons (2013-2017), and his graduation into the Major League is moment to celebrate for all of South Africa and indeed our continent.

DA supports the grassroots development of sports in South Africa and encourages more young people to pursue the sporting codes of their choice. Government must take the inspiration of Gift Ngoepe to do more for local sporting development in our communities.