Arusha will host the fifth edition of the Inter-Parliamentary Games at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium from December 6-12, this year.
The seven-day tournament will bring together teams from the five National Assemblies of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and hosts Tanzania, as well as a special team made up of members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).
“Over the years the Games involved mainly soccer and netball events but for the first time this year, we’ve expanded the sporting roster to include athletics, tug-ofwar, chicken chasing and other episodes,” revealed the Inter-Parliamentary Games Organising Committee Chairperson, Bernard Mulengani.
“With the added sporting events, we expect to involve more parliamentarians including those who previously did not fancy competing in either football or netball but may be interested in chasing the chicken or stretching their muscle in tug-of-war,” he added.
The organisers are also contemplating to include special ‘Nyama-Choma’ competitions and possibly some music to add excitement to the Games.
Uganda are the defending football champions and Tanzania are the reigning netball queens. Uganda beat EALA 3-0 to clinch the title last year, while Tanzania edged Uganda 35-33 to lift the crown.
By MARC NKWAME, Tanzania Daily News