Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE countdown to the Zimbabwe National Youth and Paralympic Games 2026 is gathering momentum as the showcase is set to return after a six-year hiatus.
It will run under the theme “Breaking the Silence Through Sport.”
The theme speaks to a number of issues that affect communities – from drug and substance abuse to sexual reproductive health rights and gender-based violence (GBV), stigma.
The organisers of the Games believe they can break the silence on those issues through sport.
Teams from the country’s 10 provinces are expected to converge in Marondera for the Games.
The National Youth Games are lined up for August 12 to 18, and the Paralympic Games will follow soon after, from August 20 to 26.
Sports and Recreation Commission director general Allen Mavunga said they are excited to have the Games back.
“The National Youth Games are the foundation of youth sports development and we are delighted to have them back, having last hosted them in 2019.
“The Games represent deliberate and practical application of our values as the SRC.
“They are inclusive and they are an embodiment of what sport should be: accessible by all young people from all provinces of the country and open to every athlete, including athletes with disability.
“This is the mark of these Games,” said Mavunga.
The Games were last held in 2019 in the Midlands.
About 3,400 athletes are expected to meet in Marondera for the Games.
For the Youth Games, athletes will compete in athletics, basketball, boxing, football, netball, table tennis, tennis and volleyball.
Judo is also on the programme as an exhibition code.
The Paralympic Games’ programme will see athletes competing for honours in athletics – (visually impaired T11 – T13, Special Olympics athletics, goalball, wheelchair basketball, football – 11-aside hearing impaired, netball – hearing impaired and wheelchair athletics.
The Games went off the radar in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic before being put on hold by the need to realign the event to the best practices in safeguarding, training and talent growth pathways.
The Games were inaugurated in 2003 in Bulawayo as a national strategy meant to enhance sport development among the youths who are below the age of 20.
They serve as a platform for talent identification, evaluation and development.
