College sports

Fame Ndongo

2015 University Games postponed
-Postponement blamed on lack of funds due Boko Haram war
By Ajongakou Santos in Buea
The 18th edition of the University Games has been postponed. Initially scheduled to hold from 2-9 May 2015, the games have been shifted to the 24th-31st May 2015.The National Federation of University Games, FENASU that organizes the games has evoked technical hitches as the reason for the postponement.
    When this reporter got in contact with sources at the Ministry of Higher Education in Yaounde to find out why the games were postponed, it emerged that most of the sports infrastructure at host university are not in good condition for the games: the New Deal Stadium where football and track and field events are supposed to take place is still to be rehabilitated; its roof that was blown off by wind in 2014 has yet to be replaced. Even the area where the Olympic flame is supposed to be planted is still covered with wild grass, idem for the tracks for athletics events.

    The sources at the MINESUP explained that the Ngoa-Ekelle campus that is supposed to host the games is not clean enough to host a sporting and cultural jamboree of that magnitude. Besides, the hostels that are supposed to house the visiting delegations are still occupied by students.
    For its part, the organizer, FENASU has not yet procured the needed funds (about 150 million FCFA) for the games. Worse still, no one of the participating universities has sent in their financial contributions to FENASU. Not even the MINESUP has made available its share of the budget.
     We learnt that the scarcity of cash is due to the pressure on the state budget caused by the war on Boko Haram.
    It is feared that the postponement of the games may have an adverse effect on the moral of the young athletes, some of whom have been training for several months.
    The University Games are an annual event hosted in a rotatory manner by the different state universities.
    So far all state universities except the Maroua University have hosted the games at least once. The 2014 edition was hosted by the Douala university.