Youth Games: Poor input leads to ‘almost zero output’

The final round of the Sheikh Kamal 2nd Bangladesh Youth Games was inaugurated on 26th February by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, but those engaged with the event expressed concern about being able to unearth true talents from the grassroots level due to indiscipline and the poor quality of provided facilities.

In Bogura, the Youth Games featured a total of 600 participants from 12 upazila participating across six events, including football, kabaddi, swimming, wushu, taekwondo and athletics. Of those 600, 14 made it to the final stage in Dhaka on behalf of Rajshahi division, according to data provided by Bogura District Sports Association (DSA).

When asked about the selection of participants, a member of the Bogura DSA, wishing to remain anonymous, said: "There was pressure to organise the event. The participants were selected from different schools and colleges randomly, without being given minimum training or knowledge about national-level sports competitions. So, the positive output is almost zero per cent at the national level."

Expanding on what he meant, he added: "Some participants who came to play football had never played 90-minute games before. Others, who came for swimming, athletics, ushu and taekwondo meets, did not know the rules of the games. A few of them were even selected for the final phase but they cannot compete with players from urban institutions or institutions like BKSP. The youth games is an eyewash for the grassroots level games," he lamented.

"Aside from that, there has been no follow-up for the kids who participated in the Youth Games. There are no facilities nor equipment, training or trainers for participants," he added.

When asked about the selection process, Md. Masud Rana, district sports officer of Bogura, said: "We asked the UNO (Upazila Nirbahi Officer) and upazila sports associations to find participants. They selected participants from different educational institutions. Those institutions should also have provided training because they take a yearly charge for equipment. They have teacher too."

When asked the budgetary constraints at the district level, Masud Rana added that simply relying on the government to provide all the funds would be remiss, so they managed some local sponsors.

He added that he believed there should be residential accommodations and training during the events in order to get better results. When asked about the lack of facilities, Rana said: "If we want better outcomes, the allocation should be increased. School-college level sports should be monitored properly. We need to provide equipment at the grassroots level and arrange regular competitions or events at the upazila and district levels."

If these areas are improved, then the aim of the Youth Games will be fulfilled, he opined.