Minister of Youth and Sports Richard Chimwendo Banda says the just ended Region 5 Youth Games were a success as everything went well and the patronage was also good.
Chimwendo said this yesterday during the closing ceremony of Region 5 Youth Games which took place at Bingu National Stadium.
Malawi was hosting the Region 5 Youth Games starting on 2 December to 11 December in Lilongwe under the theme “Igniting the African Dream”.
Over 2500 athletes participated in the tournament.
According to Chimwendo, the 2022 African Region 5 Youth Games has been a great success and it has been a great time for Malawi hosting the games.
“We are very grateful to Government and also the President, grateful to Ministry of Youth and Sports, grateful to Malawi National Sports Council, grateful to all Malawians and grateful for all the athletes who came and all countries that participated.
“It has been a great time for Malawi, our first time to host the Region 5 Youth Games. We had challenges but we can celebrate, we are happy we have done, we have seen a lot of benefits for these games, we have seen businesses booming, we have seen countries getting united, we have seen people getting employed for a short time,” explained Chimwendo.
Chimwendo also noted that Malawian athletes have done much better compared from last time in Lesotho.
“We have done much better. We are doing much better, if you saw the football the volleyball, the Netball, the basketball we did great. I can see a very good future for these young people, I think what we need is to build the team, to build the athletes to make sure that there is so much competition. We are exposing them to so many competition,” said Chimwendo.
In his remarks, African Union Sports Council (AUSC) CEO Stanley Mutoya commended Malawi for successfully hosting the Region 5 Youth Games.
Mutoya said the Government of Malawi made it possible to host the games by constructing infrastructures such as the Griffin Saenda Sports Complex and Aquatic Swimming Pool on time.
Mutoya also noted that the hospitality here in Malawi is good and all the people who come from different countries are praising Malawians for their good behaviour.
“I must commend Malawi for successfully hosting these games, it wasn’t easy but they have done it. Malawi has invested a lot in these games and from now onwards Malawi can host any international sporting games which is good, so these games have left a legacy here in Malawi,” he said.
He added: “Malawi has been uplifted in tourism sector and the issue is not about how many gold earned because Malawi has won a lot through economic transformation.”
During the games, Malawi has collected 44 medals and this is an improvement from 29 which they got in the previous Region 5 Youth Games in Lesotho.
Malawi Under-17 men’s and women’s national football teams finished third in the Region 5 Youth Games, while Zambia men’s football team finished on position one and South Africa finished on second position.
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