Minister for active associations

Minister of Youth and Sports Ulemu Msungama says he wants all sports associations affiliated to Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) to be active.

In an interview, Msungama said: “I want to work with all sports codes and not just football or netball. I want to ensure that disciplines such as boxing and basketball get adequate financial subventions too because what they are allocated now is too little.

“There are also other disciplines such as volleyball and we need to revive them.

“In the past, sporting disciplines such as cricket and hockey were doing well, but we hardly hear about them these days.

“So, I will make an effort to reach out to them so that I appreciate their challenges and hear their plans and vision.”

However, the minister also said he is aware that some associations are failing to perform due to poor leadership.

“It’s sad that some associations have been reduced to briefcase bodies with just a few members running the show.”

Malawi Boxing Association vice-president Francis Kadzakalowa said it is encouraging to hear that the new minister will try to reach out to all associations.

He said: “His sentiments are timely because they are coming when we have embarked on a drive to revive the sport at amateur level and we will definitely need his support.”

Upon his appointment as sports minister last week, Msungama said as an avid sports fan, his observation was that the country has the potential to thrive in sports, but bad policies are a stumbling block.

He said: “We need to have a national sports policy conference where all stakeholders should be able to make an input.”