Iocs Sport for Hope to Enhance Zambias Medal Chances
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IOC’s Sport for Hope to enhance Zambia’s medal chances By Ignatius Mazeko ZAMBIAN President Rupiah Banda has said the newly constructed Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) will enhance Zambia’s chances of gaining more medals at the Olympic, Commonwealth and All-Africa games. President Banda said this morning when he officially opened the multi-sport OYDC in Lusaka that the establishment of the centre means that Zambian athletes would now practice from facilities of international standards in accordance with their needs. He said the OYDC, which has been constructed as a result of the partnership International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Government, was a platform for youths to access world-class facilities. The President said the setting of such a centre in a third world country was a significant achievement by the IOC, which development sparks a new drive and momentum towards revamping sports in Zambia. He said the establishment of OYDC further gives Zambian youths an opportunity to realize their full potential in sports because they would access the 14 world-class facilities available at the centre. President Banda said Zambia has competed in 11 summer Olympic Games since the period when the country was known as Northern Rhodesia and has only won two medals from the games. “In that time, we have won two medals, a bronze in the 1984 Los Angeles Games through bantamweight boxer Keith Mwila and a silver in the 1996 Atlanta Games through Samuel Matete who was a 400 metres hurdler. “I should mention here that in 1991 Samuel Matete won the World championship in the International Amateur Athletics Federation games in Japan, demonstrating the potentialities in our sportsmen and women. “In addition to that, Zambia has been part of the Commonwealth Games for 44 years in which time the country has scooped 29 medals. That tally includes three gold in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1974, Victoria in 1994 and Manchester in 2002,” he said. The President said prioritizing investment in sport, Government would expand non- formal skills training to include leadership training at the OYDC, which is the first IOC’s ‘Sport for Hope’ project to be established in 10 countries around the world. He said with the completion of the OYDC, it was only hoped that Zambian youths would actively participate in the activities that have been lined up in order to keep them from engaging in dangerous vices. “The Olympic Youth Development Centre is strategically located within a catchment area of 10 communities who have a total population of more than 500, 000 people. “This provides a unique opportunity for the centre to focus its attention on the importance of sports and how sport and physical activity programmes can be used to help overcome extreme poverty, conflict, HIV/AIDS, corruption and crime,” he said. He said Zambia has shown commitment to address challenges of youths by providing the 18-hectare land upon which the OYDC has been established and that Government remains available to work closely with the IOC to ensure that the objectives of the centre were achieved. “I earnestly appeal to our cooperating partners, United Nations agencies and corporate houses to come on board and partner with the Olympic Youth Development Centre. That is the best way we can realize our national vision of raising high caliber sportsmen and sportswomen. “In conclusion, let me challenge our sports associations in Zambia to have a big picture mentally. Let us learn something from the construction of this centre and visualize great, if not greater things for our sports fraternities in times to come,” he said. IOC president Jacques Rogge said the OYDC was a unique project that would enhance sports development in Zambia and the southern Africa region. Dr Rogge, who laid a foundation stone at the OYDC site on May 28, 2008, thanked Government, National Olympic Committee (NOC) and international sports federation for their efforts in the construction of the centre. He said the centre was not only a national centre for elite athletes but also centre for regional athletes. The IOC president said the centre would give athletes, particularly young Zambians the same opportunities as their peers in developed countries to practice sport and be educated on the values of olympiasim. Africa Olympic Committee vice-president and IOC member, Patrick Chamunda urged Zambians to by all means avoid the trend where quality facilities such as the OYDC were left to deteriorate and end up being white elephants. Chamunda said key to success would be the effective mobilization of resources to maintain high standards of the centre’s facilities and work to upgrade them for the future. He said the centre would provide immense opportunities for children, youths and communities in the immediate surroundings to access and participate in a variety of sporting and educational activities. The former NOC president said the centre would complement Government’s efforts to provide accessible and modern sport and physical education facilities to communities and schools. He thanked Rogge for his vision and dedication to the cause of bringing hope to the multitude of young people through sport adding that without the IOC president’s commitment to the cause, the OYDC would not have been realized. “Lastly, I would like to thank the Government of the republic of Zambia through the Minister of Sport, Youth and Child Development honourable Kenneth Chipungu who spared no effort to ensure that construction of the centre progressed without interruptions,” he said. NOC president Mirriam Moyo said the OYDC would help Zambia meet most of its sports needs because the centre would be an answer to the lack of high performance facility the country has not had for a long time. Moyo said with modern facilities as the ones available at the OYDC, she was positive that the levels of sport performance and participation among Zambian sportsmen and women would greatly improve. “It is my sincere hope and prayer that we as beneficiaries will endeavour to jealously look after this beautiful centre so that it will continue existing and providing various services to people of all works of life. “Let us all work together in ensuring that the vision upon which lies the birth of this project does not go to waste so that it can also benefit our children and our children’s children,” she said. She thanked international federations, Government, national sports associations and the contractors for joining hands with the IOC to provide the Zambian people with a sustainable platform for the development of sports in the country. Over 1, 000 people from all works of life turned up to witness the colourful launch that was graced by President Banda who was first taken round to tour the sport facilities when he arrived at the centre shortly before10am. The President proceeded to the packed main hall where he read his speech thereafter walked a few metres outside between the hall and administration block to cut a ribbon and unveil the plaque signifying the official opening of the multi-million dollar OYDC. Among the IOC members who witnessed the launch were International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) president Lamine Diack of Senegal, 1993 IAAF World Championship 200m gold medallist Frankie Fredericks of Namibia. Other IOC members were Sam Ramsamy of South Africa, Nawal el Moutawakel of Morocco, Lassana Palenfo of Ivory Coast, Cing-Ku Wu of Chinese Taipei and Patrick Baumann of Switzerland. Eminent sports leaders representing international federations were International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre, African Hockey Federation (AfHF) president Seif Ahmed and World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) president Chungwon Choue. The rest were International Handball Federation (IHF) president Hassan Moustafa and International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Africa secretary general Alphonse Bile. .