No infrastructure, no Olympic medals—Huo

Ministry of Youth and Sports officials attending a seminar on Youth and Sports Management in Beijing, China, have been urged to lobby government to invest in infrastructure if the country is to nurture world-class athletes.

Speaking on organisation and management of sports, Huo Jianxin from the University of Physical Education and Sports in Beijing said sports infrastructure is a must if a country is serious about winning medals.

“Frankly speaking, if you have no infrastructure to cater for various sports disciplines in all the districts of your country, then forget about Olympic medals or any other honours in any competition. The background to success in sports begins with proper infrastructure where people can train,” he said.

Huo said the success of China at Olympic Games in recent years is a result of government’s political will to invest in sports infrastructure.

“The other condition is guaranteed funding. Without these two conditions, it is even impossible to plan sports activities.  In China, we are lucky because government is serious about sports for all,” he said.

Dedza district sports officer Janet Makawa said she will strive to apply sports management skills she has learnt in China.

“As a country, I know we do not have adequate infrastructure. So, my target will not be on the Olympic strategy, but I have been impressed with the concept of mass sports being implemented here.

“Government and people take sports as an important part of social construction. With support from my ministry, I will work on mobilising the community to be sports-oriented. We can do this even with limited infrastructure,” she said.