President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera says Africans should use sports as a platform to exploit many opportunities in transforming livelihoods.
The President was speaking at Bingu National Stadium last night during the opening of the 10th edition of the African Union Region 5 Youth Games.
“We believe that sport is about more than playing games, because sport is about the development of our people and strengthening our minds to achieve great feats. What we believe is that we are more than just a continent with problems and suffering, for we are a continent with abilities, a continent with agency, a continent with dreams, a continent with inspiration, a continent with energy and vitality, and a continent that values our shared humanity,” said President Chakwera.
The President said he is glad to see that Lilongwe has stablished key infrastructure that will be used for many decades to come.
In preparation for the hosting of the games government has constructed the 10,000- seater Griffin Saenda Indoor Sports Complex and the 5,000-seater Aquatic Complex at Kamuzu Institue for Sports.
In his remarks, President Nyusi commended President Chakwera for investing energy and resources into the hosting of the games, labeling the opening ceremony as colourful and successful.
Participating teams at the games are Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Kingdom of Eswatini, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Comoros, Seychelles and Malawi.
The Region 5 Youth Games are being competed for by close to 2000 Under-17 boys and girls who are seeking honours in various sports disciplines including athletics, basketball, boxing, judo, taekwando, gymnastics, football, netball, swimming, tennis, volleyball and E-Sport.
The games will be played from 2-11 December.
Mozambique will host the next edition of the games in 2024.