The regional schools tournament has received a major financial boost after the East African Development Bank (EADB) committed $90,000 (about Rwf 132 million) as title sponsor of this year's games.
The tournament, which is underway in Morogoro, has brought together 413 teams and 5,548 participants from across East Africa competing in 51 sporting disciplines, making it one of the region's biggest school sports events.
Speaking during the official opening ceremony on Sunday, EADB Country Manager Stephen Wambura said the bank's support was aimed at investing in young people and promoting sustainable development through sport.
'While our core mandate is financing development projects across key sectors of the economy, we recognize that sustainable development goes beyond infrastructure and enterprises. It also means investing in people, especially young people, who represent the future of our region,' Wambura said.
He said sports sponsorship was part of the bank's Corporate Social Initiatives agenda, given the role of sport in promoting healthy lifestyles, developing character and creating opportunities for young people.
'Through this sponsorship, we are investing not only in the competition, but in the development of the next generation of East African leaders,' Wambura added.
Under the sponsorship, EADB will support the production of medals and trophies for winning teams and provide playing kits for teams competing in the finals.
For Rwanda, the games provide an opportunity for its young athletes to compete against some of the strongest school teams in the region.
In boys' football, CGF Kigali is representing Rwanda, while PSB Huye is competing in the girls' category, among other Rwandan teams.
Volleyball is another discipline where Rwanda will be looking for strong results. Nyanza Technical Secondary School (Nyanza TSS) will compete in the boys' tournament, while GS Indangaburezi will represent the country in the girls' competition.
Rwanda will also compete in basketball, with ITS Kigali featuring in the boys' 5×5 category and ESB Kamonyi competing in the girls' tournament.
In handball, GS Tabagwe will represent Rwanda in the boys' competition, while Kiziguro Secondary School will compete in the girls' category.
FEASSA President Justus Mugisha, while lauding the lender's financial commitment, described this year's edition as the biggest in the history of the games.
Mugisha said the competition includes primary school pupils under 15, secondary school students under 19 and participants in the special needs education category.
According to Mugisha, the event has more than 6,000 participants, including about 5,000 students, while the overall number of people attending the games, including parents, is expected to exceed 10,000.
The tournament is scheduled to run until August 22, with Rwanda hoping to secure medals across several disciplines while competing for a strong overall performance against the region's leading school sports programmes.
