By Tarcizio Mondwe
Ninety-six athletes from nine universities have been shortlisted in the first phase of the Tertiary Students Sports Association of Malawi (TESSAM) preliminary squad following the conclusion of the 2025 Second Sports Festival held at the University of Malawi Sports Complex and Chilunga Ground in Zomba.
TESSAM Vice President Geoffrey Biya told Malawi News Agency that the selection process for athletes who will represent Malawi at the Confederation of Universities and Colleges Sports Association (CUCSA) Games is still underway, noting that several universities did not participate in the festival.
“TESSAM consists of 21 universities across Malawi, but only nine participated in the just-ended tournament. We will, therefore, select additional athletes in January,” he said.
Biya said he was confident that the final squad will be ready in time for the 2026 CUCSA Games to be hosted in Botswana on dates yet to be announced.
“What has been released is just a preliminary list. We still have several phases of selection to go through. The final list will be released in June next year and we believe this is achievable,”he said.Vice General Secretary of the TESSAM Students Executive Committee, Precious Bonzo, said Malawis poor performance at the 2024 CUCSA tournament has motivated the newly selected athletes to aim for better results.
“Our athletes will perform well in the upcoming CUCSA Games because they witnessed how poorly Malawi performed in 2024. They are all determined to rewrite the story,” he said.
Bonzo added that universities will play a key role in preparing the athletes for the competition.
“The athletes will be provided with transport and food. I am not sure yet about allowances during camp, but universities will definitely ensure transportation and other necessary logistics,”he said.
The shortlisted athletes will undergo camping as part of the preparation for the 2026 CUCSA Games and will compete in football for both men and women, chess, netball, basketball for both men and women, and mens volleyball.
At the 2025 TESSAM Second Sports Festival, Mzuzu University emerged overall winners after dominating in volleyball, football and netball.
