Samsung Games under way in Lilongwe
The first edition of Samsung Youth Games are underway at Malawi Olympic Committee (MOC) Sports Centre in Lilongwe
The games are part of the Olympia Africa Project which is an initiative of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) aimed at promoting Olympic Sports in Africa.
According to chairperson of the games’ organising committee Henry Sakala, the games are targeting children aged between 12 and 15 years.
“These are competing in football, taekwando, wrestling, lawn tennis, field and track. We will have the finals on September 12,” said Sakala.
He said multinational company Samsung has pumped in $8 000 (about K4.5 million) hence, the tournament is called Sumsung Youth Games.
Sakala said similar games sponsored by Samsung are taking place in other nations in Africa.
“For us the objective of the games is not only to promote Olympic Sports at grass roots, but also to select national teams in the five sports codes being competed. We have continental games coming up in December and we need to have strong representation. Through these games we are identifying talent,” he said.
Sakala said it is important to have a national team ready in case there is an invitation to compete.
“However the long-term plan is to nurture talent and develop it so that in future we can win medals at global tournaments like the Olympics or Commonwealth Games. The foundation to achieve that starts now,” said Sakala.
On behalf of MOC, Sakala expressed gratitude to IOC for the project.
