Council admits maintaining Region 5 teams will be a challenge

Malawi National Council of Sports says it will be a challenge to keep teams that performed well in the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Games active due to lack of resources.

Sports Council board chairperson Sunduzwayo Madise was responding to a question on how they will ensure that the Under-17 men’s and women’s football teams, the men’s basketball and volleyball teams, which won medals during the Games, are kept busy.

He said: “Indeed we are excited that some sports disciplines, which have had no national teams for some time, were able to build  teams and perform well.

“The challenge though is to ensure that we build upon their success and keep them active.

 “That challenge is a shared one. I believe that while we may ask associations to market their games to corporate partners, government, through council, must ostensibly carry out the greater burden in youth development.”

Madise said they hope that the games have provided a demonstrable opportunity for parliamentarians  to consider increasing budgetary allocation to sports.

He said:  “Even if it means ring-fencing the budget for youth development as well as inclusion of women in sports, it will help.

“Success in sports is not by accident. It’s by design. You have to plan for it and plan early.

“It means, next year, we have to start preparing for Maputo 2024. We, therefore, hope we can leverage on the youth games for 2023 to unveil new talent.”

The Sports Council board chair also acknowledged that there were some codes such as netball, swimming, gymnastics and tennis which struggled.

“For those that struggled, its the issue of infrastructure, equipment and facilities.

“We now need to build upon the brand new  infrastructure that government has built for us at the Griffin Saenda Indoor Sports Complex, the tennis courts nearby and the Aquatic Centre at Kamuzu Institute for Sports.

 “But we also need to capacitate our coaches who train our youth. Once again. this will call for financial resources as an enabler and we have great hope that the Region 5 Games have demonstrated the great potential in sports and  have unlocked the financial taps so that our par;iamentary vote can be substantially increased.

“To be blunt and honest, without increased financial resources, we will sing this song forever. Malawi 2063 can’t be achieved if we neglect sports, especially youth development in sports.

“So, we want to do well in Maputo 2024? We need to start now. Not tomorrow, not next year and definitely not in 2024. It’s Now.”

Minister of Youth and Sports Richard Chimwendo Banda said while Sports Council’s observation is true, government on its own, cannot manage.

He said” “We cannot agree more, but we need a helping hand from our friends in the corporate world. They need to get on board to ensure that we succeed.

“We will be sitting down to see how best we can move forward.”