The inaugural Sports Aid for Malawi Project U/12 and U/14 Boys’ and Girls’ Singles National Junior Tennis Tournament is set to take place at the Ntcheu Catholic Sports Center from July 19th to 22nd, 2024.
This highly anticipated competition will gather 62 of the top junior tennis players from across Malawi, providing a platform for young talents to showcase their skills.
The southern region has 8 players representing it (4 boys and 4 girls), the Central region has 12 players representing it (6 boys and 6 girls), Ntcheu in the Central region has 22 players representing it (11 boys and 11 girls), Zomba in the Eastern region has 8 players representing it (4 boys and 4 girls), Monkey Bay in the Eastern region has 10 players representing it (5 boys and 5 girls), and the Northern Region has 8 players representing it (4 boys and 4 girls).
Founded in 2013 under the “Mission Office of Sacramentine Sisters”, the Sports Aid for Malawi Project is a non-profit initiative dedicated to offering free sports opportunities to children such as Tennis, Football, Basketball, Volleyball, and Netball.
Over the past decade, the project has established two centers in Ntcheu and Monkey Bay, supporting sports like tennis, football, basketball, volleyball, and netball. Additionally, the project extends its support to 40 disabled children in Gumbu, Ntcheu.
The activities of the Sports Aid for Malawi Project are funded by Marco Bove and various Italian contractors. Over the past four years, the project has been instrumental in identifying young tennis talent, which led to their decision to sponsor the U/12 and U/14 National Tournament at Ntcheu Catholic Centre, equipped with two tennis courts.
According to Thomson Mtengula International Tennis Federation (ITF) national coordinator in Malawi, the tournament’s timing and its importance for junior players who have had limited opportunities to compete is very important.
“This tournament comes at the right time. We’ve been struggling to find sponsors, and in the past five years, we only had two junior tournaments. This event will help assess the performance of players selected for the ITF/CAT 12/U Team Event Tournament in Mozambique from August 6th to 10th, 2024,” Mtengula stated.
He also emphasized the need for more tournaments to help players gain the necessary experience to excel internationally.
“Players need to participate in 2-8 local tournaments annually, equating to 12-48 matches a year. However, in Malawi, they only play 3-6 matches annually. More junior tournaments are essential for player development and talent identification,” Ntengula explained.