WITH the epic Olympic Games set to begin imminently in late July this year in Paris, it is extremely concerning that our preparations for the Summer Games are proceeding at a sluggish pace.

Alarmingly, there is a distinct lack of specificity regarding which sports our sportsmen will take part in besides of course athletics and perhaps boxing, which have long been our forte at such grand festivals of sports in the past.

Indeed, the glacial pace of our Olympic preparations leaves a lot to be desired and it is disturbing to note that such foot-dragging has often resulted in our sportsmen turning in abysmal showings on the biggest stage in the realm of sports.

It is hoped then that a sense of urgency can be rapidly injected into our preparations, otherwise, our sportsmen run the risk of turning up at the 2024 Paris Games merely to make up the numbers, which would be a crying shame.

In the absence of any remedial action taken to address this potentially damaging problem, it seems then that we are on course to produce a dismal performance at the Paris Olympic Games, which would massively dent our sporting reputation.

Let us now explore the weighty matter of youth football on the continent, which is poised to take center stage when Zanzibar hosts the prestigious 2024 CAF African Schools Football Championship.

Indeed, this gem of an idea, which was the brainchild of the incumbent CAF president Patrice Motsepe is part of the president’s laudable vision to invest in the youth of the continent.

The tournament, which is a remarkable first for global football will feature school boys and girls under the age of 15 earnestly jostling for top honors.

Following an emphatically successful maiden edition of the competition in South Africa last year, this year’s championship promises to be even better as a tad over 800, 000 young African school boys and girls from a whopping 44 countries are all set to fiercely contest for silverware once the eagerly awaited championship kicks-off on May 21st, this year.

It is hoped then that the lovely island of Zanzibar will provide the fitting setting for prodigiously gifted youngsters to shine and put on display their inherent football talent.

Let us now change course and discuss local tennis where championships have been disappointingly few and far between thus far this year.

Indeed, the dearth of local tennis tourneys should prompt us all to feel decidedly worried about the present state of affairs in the sport.

One would like to urge the administrators at the Tanzania Tennis Association (TTA) to carefully examine where things have gone so drastically wrong.

If the causal factor of the crisis is a lack of funds, then this writer calls upon the top brass at the TTA and other stakeholders to work in concert with potential sponsors to rectify the pesky problem.

To sum up, we have in the past witnessed how youth tennis blossomed and thrived on the local scene for many a year.

However, with local tennis facing its gravest crisis in a long while, it is hoped that urgent measures will be taken to not only defuse the crisis but to put the sport on a surer footing.