BY THEMBA ZWANE
MBABANE – Eswatini will use its first-ever National Youth Games as a crucial stepping stone towards the Olympic Youth Games in Dakar, Senegal, and the Region V Youth Games in Mozambique, with sports leaders describing youth development as the country’s best chance of improving its international performances.
This was revealed by Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA) and Local Organising Committee (LOC) Board Member Victor ‘Mavikane’ Dlamini, who said the inaugural 2026 National Youth Games marked the beginning of a long-term investment in the country’s future sporting success.
Dlamini said Eswatini’s decision to host the games followed the country’s participation in the 2025 National Youth Games in Lesotho, where local officials witnessed first-hand the value of such a competition in nurturing young talent.
“We realised the importance of these games. This is good for any country as far as development is concerned,” said Dlamini.
He acknowledged that Eswatini had struggled to make an impact at major international competitions over the years, saying the country needed to shift its focus towards developing young athletes instead of continuing to lament poor performances.
“We all know that over the years we have not been performing well at international tournaments. There is no short-cut; it is time we invest in the development of our youngsters. This should be our focus if we want to stop lamenting all the time after disappointing performances at international level,” he said.
According to Dlamini, the National Youth Games will provide the ideal platform for identifying and preparing athletes who will represent Eswatini at the Olympic Youth Games in Dakar and the Region V Games in Mozambique.
“The youth games should assist us prepare for these upcoming games. There is a crisis. A lot of money is invested into these tournaments and we must perform well,” he said.
He added that around 300 athletes drawn from all four regions of Eswatini would compete in the inaugural event, underlining that athlete development remained the overriding objective.
The games will feature athletics, swimming, taekwondo, boxing, 3×3 basketball, volleyball, tennis and Special Olympics competitions.
The event will also have an international flavour, with 30 athletes from Lesotho and four from Seychelles expected to arrive in the country on August 14 to participate in the games.
Looking beyond this year’s edition, Dlamini said organisers intended to expand the programme by introducing more sporting codes, including rugby, chess, Paralympics, judo and table tennis.
He also challenged the private sector to play a greater role in the development of sport, arguing that sustained corporate investment was essential if Eswatini was to compete with its regional neighbours.
“We urge corporates to copy from other countries and support local sports in order to facilitate development. In other countries, companies are pumping millions of emalangeni into sports and the results speak for themselves,” he said.
Dlamini noted that Eswatini had previously been ahead of countries such as Botswana and Lesotho in sport, but said the two nations had since overtaken the Kingdom largely because of stronger backing from the corporate sector.
With the inaugural National Youth Games now set to become a permanent feature on the sporting calendar, organisers believe the competition could lay the foundation for a stronger pipeline of athletes capable of representing Eswatini with distinction on the continental and international stage.
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