Bingu Stadium to host Youth Games finals

Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe will be the centre of attraction between March 21 and 25 as it hosts the finals of the inaugural National Youth Games.

Football, netball, basketball, volleyball and athletics will be the major ingredients of fun in the K140 million schools sports competition bankrolled by the Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) and organised by the Malawi Schools Sports Association (Massa).

During a press briefing in Blantyre yesterday, the council’s public relations and communications officer Edgar Mtulumbwa said they expect to use the national finals as a platform to select athletes for the Africa Region 5 Games the country will host in December.

“We came up with the National Youth Games to revive sports in schools and bridge the gap created by the absence of grassroots competitions such as the Coca-Cola Games,” he said.

“As you know, Malawi won 29 medals at the recent Region 5 Games in Lesotho and we hope to win more as we host the event this year. Therefore, the national games will be the suitable platform where talents for such assignment will be identified.”

Massa president Blackson Malamula, who was accompanied by general secretary Chrispin Nyasulu, said the national games started at the zonal level on October 23 before divisional level.

It is competed for among pupils in 5 450 primary and 1 620 secondary schools nationwide.

“From the zonal stage, we have been identifying the best athletes that will now represent the divisions at the national finals. Those athletes are currently in camp ahead of the national finals,” he said.

This is the first time in years that activities organised by Massa have disciplines such as basketball, volleyball and athletics as previously they mostly comprised football and netball.