Let us curb age-cheating from grass roots—Mereka
Mereka said this at Masongola Secondary School in Zomba on Tuesday when closing the 2012 Malawi Schools Sports Association (Massa) Presidential Initiative on Sports (PIS) talent development programme.
He said age-cheating should not be entertained at any level in sports as it cripples athletes’ careers.
“Let me commend the Massa PIS talent development programme for going within the required Under-17 age bracket in the 10-day camp. This is what is expected of all sports associations in the country,” he said.
Mereka pointed out that his office is about to accredit athletes for the December 2012 Under-20 Zone VI tournament to be held in Zambia.
“I would like to express disappointment that most of the athletes that made it to the same competition last year have also been included on the list with different information regarding birth certificates,” said Mereka.
He urged coaches to select athletes on merit and within the required age bracket for the betterment of sports.
In her remarks, Massa vice-president Severia Chalira hailed President Bingu wa Mutharika for the initiative.
“Despite some challenges on sports paraphernalia, we have managed to successfully finish the PIS camp,” said Chalira.
