Buea: Stakeholders in SW, Littoral lectured on new format of university games.

It was organised Thursday November 7, 2024. Addressing stakeholders during the information seminar, Dr Wanah Litumbe Theresia, representative of the President of National Federation of University Sports, Professor Roger Tsafack Nanfosso, said the new format was signalling a new era for the practice of sports and physical exercise in the university milieu.

The sensitisation and information seminar at the University of Buea involved all higher education institutions in both the public and private domains.

The officials were lectured on the new format and what it entails to be affiliated to the federation. The new format means that the University Games will take place in two phases. 

The first phase is the qualifier stage that will take place in four zones, grouping institutions from regions in every group. In this light, the zonal games will be dedicated to qualifications for teams in different sports disciplines.

The zonal championships phase of the competition has four zones; Zone A made up of institutions from the Far North, Adamawa, and North regions. 

Zone B made up of institutions from the South, East and Centre regions. While Zone C includes institutions from the South West and Littoral regions and Zone D with institutions in the North West and west.

Speaking to the press after the information seminar, Dr Wanah Litumbe Theresia, said the new format would ensure efficiency, while reducing cost. 

She said the desire of the sensitisation tour was to ensure that 95% of higher education institutions in Cameroon are committed to the regular practice of physical and sporting activities on their campuses.

The seminar provided stakeholders the opportunity to ask questions about the new format, conditions for institutions to be affiliated and other modalities. 

At the end of the seminar, Dr Wanah expressed her desire that all the institutions present had gotten all the information needed about the competition on terms of affiliation and participation in the university games.

On his part, the National Technical Coordinator, David Biyo’o, said the new format would ensure that only the best teams from the different zones qualify for the finals. 

The finals will be held every year. “…this means the competition will no longer be organised as one event, but as two events, that is the zonal competitions and the finals”.

The number of teams in the different zonal competitions will be determined by the number of higher education institutions affiliated to the National Federation of University Games in each zone.

The National Federation of University Sports, which organises the University Games has twelve sports disciplines and one socio-cultural event which is the fan club. The first finals in the new format of the University Games will be contested at Ebolowa in 2026

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3288 of Tuesday November 12, 2024