By Barrie Alpha
The Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Prof Alpha Tejan Wurie, on Tuesday, 8th February 2022 admonished the Inter- University/College Games Committee on key areas of consideration in its fixture drawing before the commencement of the 2021/2022 competition.
The Inter University/College Games Committee is made up of representatives from the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education (MTHE) and the National Sports Authority (NSA), and the main aim of the committee is to reactivate sporting activities in tertiary institutions after many years without organising such competitions.
Addressing the committee and representatives from the universities and colleges at the ministry’s Conference Hall, Prof Alpha Tejan Wurie stated that for far too long the ministry had not organised Inter-Collegiate sports competitions.
‘We need to bring back the intercollegiate and make our students happy to do sports. We want our various national teams to have university and college students who are not only involved in sports but who can also communicate very well with their colleagues and match officials,’ the Minister said.
‘We want to bring all students together. It is useful for their interaction, to know one another and to be in the position to compete.’
Prof Wurie further admonished all and sundry to manage violence during the course of the competition, as he puts it that Sierra Leone has been violent for many years; therefore, whenever young people come together, there is tendency for them to get a bit rowdy. He therefore urged the committee to engage the forces to be in attendance for crowd control.
Prof Wurie encouraged the Technical Committee to consider the following in drawing the fixtures: Number of games in the different disciplines (football, volleyball etc.), match venues, time allocations/availability for matches, media and its related activities for the games.
Deputy Minister of Sports, Kai Lawrence Mbayoh (KLM), while addressing the meeting noted that the two ministries had once been in a single entity known as the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
‘Although the two ministries are now separated, yet we have worked closely in the past and we will continue in that direction.’ KLM ended up by saying that the Sports Ministry is fully in support of these games and that has been demonstrated by NSA’s commitment to the entire process. The Deputy Minister encouraged members to provide the technical advice needed to make the event a success.
The Director of Sports in the Ministry of Sports, Haroun Korgie, commended the Government of Sierra Leone for attaching so much importance to sports as was reflected in Sierra Leone’s qualification to the AFCON 2022. The director urged all members to imbibe the same spirit in the Inter-Varsity Games.
He commended the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education for working with National Sports Authority, considering their technical skills in the field of sports. ‘We are here to support this process. Let us do some huge collaboration,’ he said.
This year’s games which commences on 18th February 2022 at the Siaka Stevens Stadium with University of Sierra Leone entertaining Limkokwing University will be a snappy tournament due to time constraints and the rehabilitation of the Siaka Stevens Stadium.
Match day2 features Milton Margai University engaging Blue Crest College on Saturday 19th February, 2022 at the National stadium at 4pm, and Freetown Polytechnic versus Imatt College Technical University will battle for supremacy at the National Stadium on Match day3, at 4pm.
The competition plays on a home and away basis with two teams in the Eastern Region, two teams in the Northern Region, one in the Southern Region and six in the Western Region.
Football, volleyball, table tennis and lawn tennis disciplines have been identified for the competition.