By Francis Chipalo
KALULUSHI residents have commended former mayor Rashida Mulenga for her commitment to sports development in the area.
Mulenga sponsored a sports tournament in Kalulushi that saw 24 teams, both male and female competing in a game of football.
Speaking in an interview shortly after gracing the finals held in Chati ward of Kalulushi district, Mulenga emphasized that the focus of tournament was not winning or losing, but talent identification among young people.
“An appeal to some of the coaches that we have in Chati ward is that from the on set of this tournament, we stated that the focus is not about who wins or not, but it is about talent identification and sports development for the physic, entertainment and to practice it as a job.
“If we focus so much on who wins and loses then our focus is lost, so we hereby encourage those managing these boys and girls to focus on talent identification so we that we make sport as a source of livelihood for our youths in Kalulushi,” Mulenga said.
Meanwhile, some parents in Kalulushi have hailed Mulenga for the initiative and called for more of such activities for their children.
Organizing committee chairman Aston Mashewa said a number of young people benefited from the tournament as they were kept busy and away from engaging in risk behaviors, words echoed by some players who took part in the competition.
All participating teams in both categories were given brand new soccer balls, whilst tournament victors also walked away with brand new soccer jerseys and monitory prizes courtesy of Mulenga.
