JEAN Marie Vianney Gatabazi, the Governor of Northern Province, has expressed confidence that Musanze District will host successful and memorable FEASSSA Games come August 10-20. Regarded as Rwanda’s most mountainous district, Musanze is one of the five districts comprising Northern Province. This is the third time Rwanda will be hosting the regional post-primary games in ten years. Kigali hosted the 2008 edition while Huye District, South Province hosted the 2015 games. Organised by the Federation of East African Secondary School Sports Associations (FEASSSA), this year’s edition of the annual multidisciplinary competitions is expected to attract around 2600 young athletes from four countries; Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the hosts Rwanda. “What we did first was to meet the technical team at the national level, and the collaboration has since been fantastic. There is no doubt Musanze and Northern Province at large will be a memorable experience for the participants. We are ready for the event,” Governor Gatabazi told Times Sport in an exclusive telephone interview. Gatabazi, a volleyball veteran, also underlined that ensuring the competitions take place incident-free is in line with the country’s culture of good hospitality and reputation to successfully host international events ranging from conferences and festivals to sporting competitions. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that all our facilities are ready. We look forward to enjoying and celebrating the young talents,” he added. Gatabazi also noted that hosting the 2018 FEASSSA Games is a great opportunity to promote the country’s tourism and cultural diversity to East Africans, particularly the youth in schools. For the first time, the ten-day competition will also have primary schools – over 300 young athletes from Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda – competing in football, volleyball and netball. Rwanda will be represented by a total of 20 teams in six different disciplines namely; football, basketball, volleyball, handball, rugby and netball, and will also field athletes in individual sports, such as swimming, badminton, tennis, table tennis and athletics. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
