The Government of President Julius Maada Bio promised to improve sports in Sierra Leone, especially football, which is popular among the youthful population of the country.
Government has invested billions of Leones in various sporting disciplines to create the platform for young people to excel and showcase their skills both locally and internationally.
It is against this backdrop that the Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Prof. Alpha Tejan Wurie, has revived the Inter-Versity Games which has been abandoned for 14 years.
In the Inter-Versity sports, tertiary institutions across the country compete for different laurels.
These games, according to Prof. Alpha Wurie, will enhance national cohesion and also create an avenue to capture young talents for national and international games.
Speaking during the launch of the Inter-Versity games at the Kingtom Football Academy, Prof. Wurie said: “I am pleased to see young people, expectant faces, participating. It is most important for people to recognize that games can be used as a catalyst for national cohesion. 14 years there has been no Inter-Versity games, therefore skills are lacking. This is the essence of the games, for them to see the gaps and try to fill those gaps.”
Prof. Wurie assured of progress in the Inter-Versity games as it will soon be organized at regional level to include Mano River countries.
Many students expressed their happiness for the revival of sports in their various universities and thanked the government for creating the platform for them to exhibit their talents in various sporting disciplines.
The University of Sierra Leone (USL) won the volley ball competition in the female category while Njala University won the male category.
\Njala University however beat the USL to clinch the football champion after a thrilling encounter at the Kingtom Football Academy on Saturday 12th March 2022. The match was decided on post-game penalties after a nil-nil full time draw.
The Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Professor Alpha Tejan Wurie and his Deputy, Mr. Sarjoh Aziz Kamara, presented Certificates to all the participating institutions as well as trophies and cash prizes to the winners.
The male and female volley ball winners respectively took home seven million five hundred thousand Leones each while the football champions, Njala University, received ten million Leones and runners-up, USL, five million Leones.
Meanwhile, the Athletics aspect (Track and Field) of the Inter-Versity games will take place in Bo from the 19th to 22nd April 2022.
