MTC intervenes in Youth Games

Limba Mupetami







WINDHOEK

MTC, the main sponsor of the multi-disciplinary under-20 Namibia Youth Games, yesterday announced that it will be actively involved in planning and executing this year’s edition of the games.

The Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) will take care of the logistics around rules and how the games will be played, MTC’s Tim Ekandjo said at yesterday’s press conference.

Last year, the corporate stepped in with financial assistance to the tune of a whopping N$1.8 million per annum for the next two editions of the games.

However, organising logistics faltered. The athletes suffered tremendously as they were forced into inhospitable, overcrowded accommodation facilities, with some sleeping in corridors due to a lack of bedding.

Athletes were also forced to eat unpalatable meals, with one even complaining that there wasn’t as much as an apple or orange to be seen in the kitchen.

The games, which were intended for them, turned out to have blessed the organisers more. While the athletes were having mud baths, the organisers had the time of their lives with their inflated packages for the three-day event. Some even turned up with family members and thus pushed up numbers, further diverting resources from the athletes.

Sponsor takes lead

Ekandjo said there should have been better preparation, adding that he was not pleased with the negative publicity generated after the Rietfontein games and thus sat down with the NSC to look at all the challenges that were experienced with the objective of ensuring that it never happens again.

“We are mindful that we are dealing with very young athletes and these parents trust the organisers with their kids. It is, therefore, heartbreaking to hear from kids that they have not eaten or [were] not being treated well. We will ensure this will not happen again.

“Our philosophy is not to interfere in the affairs of our sponsorship beneficiaries, but if these events generate bad publicity, we will insist on getting actively involved. We want to thank the leadership of the NSC for allowing MTC to take charge of certain aspects of the event,” Ekandjo said.

He added that they have already started with preparations to ensure a world-class event, which will be held in Windhoek. He said the NSC will announce the date for the games in due course.

NSC admits challenges

The games are the brainchild of the NSC, with the first edition having taken place in 2018 to identify and develop local talent at grassroot level, enhance skill development for both athletes and officials as well as ready athletes for the Region 5 Games.

NSC chief administrator Freddy Mwiya, who was bombarded with questions at the press conference, acknowledged the success and challenges faced in last year’s event. He said the games produced the likes of track and field athletes Beatrice Masilingi as well as Christine Mboma, who over the weekend recorded the fastest 400m times for the year, thus setting national records and having already qualified for the Tokyo Games.

He, however, added that they experienced a personnel shortage as well as a budget shortcoming of N$900 000, and denied mismanaging funds.

“Together with the MTC, we remain committed to growing the MTC Namibia Youth Games brand and wish to recommit to the nation that we have learnt from the challenges faced and will address them head-on. Importantly, we have indeed listened to the public outcry and together we will work hard to exceed our clientele’s expectations.

“Most importantly, we wish to assure you that we are 100% committed to ensuring that we put together a memorable event,” Mwiya said.