Government’s decision to invest in school sport is beginning to pay off, with the Malawi Youth Games emerging as an important pathway for identifying and developing talent for national and international competition.
Speaking at the opening of the sixth edition of the Malawi Youth Games, on Thursday at Bingu, Civo, Kamuzu Institute and Lilongwe Community grounds, Malawi National Youth of Sports spokesperson Edgar Mtulumbwa said government decided to invest in the Games in 2021 after identifying gaps in school sport.
“We needed to find ways of how we are going to identify the talent and how we are going to nurture it,” Mtulumbwa said.
He said the investment is already producing results, with athletes who came through the Malawi Youth Games going on to represent Malawi at regional, continental and global competitions, including the recent Commonwealth Games and national teams.
Mtulumbwa said government wants to expand the Games to more sporting disciplines so that talent can be identified from different areas.
Malawi Schools Sports Association (MASSA) President Blackson Malamula said the impact of the Games has already been significant, with many athletes discovered through the competition going on to represent Malawi internationally.
“The impact has been immense because we have produced a lot of athletes that have represented Malawi in different international competitions,” Malamula said.
Malamula said he has already witnessed promising talent during this year’s competitions and expects the sixth edition to produce even more athletes capable of representing Malawi at international level.
He said MASSA has strengthened its talent identification process by separating athletes into appropriate age categories, while the addition of handball and chess is expected to widen the search for talent.
Mtulumbwa said the ultimate goal is to “search for talent anywhere” and ensure that no young athlete is left behind, strengthening school sport as a pathway from the classroom to the international stage.
