Sport for Tomorrow (SFT) has hosted “UNDOKAI” for the third year in a row in Malawi. The Consortium members of SFT have been supporting for education, human development, creating a sense of solidarity and overcoming social problems, through sports. The “UNDOKAI” is a Japanese-style sports festival where several groups compete in various sports. In Japan, each school from kindergarten to high school organises “UNDOKAI” every year as part of school education, aimed at improving physical capabilities as well as cultivating cooperation, solidarity and unity through team sports.

This Japanese style “UNDOKAI” in Malawi has been supported jointly by the Japan Sport Council and the Japan Overseas Cooperative Association (JOCA), which provided opportunities for exercise to children and adults and promoted the Olympic and Paralympic Movement in the region.

This year the “UNDOKAI” was held in the capital city of Lilongwe on 11th November. Approximately 1,200 children from elementary schools near the venue participated and competed in events such as sprint and tug-of-war. Also, JOCA started to organise a training programme for trainers along with the “UNDOKAI” from last year. This programme supports the Malawi people to hold ongoing “UNDOKAI” themselves.

Through the SFT programme in total, the “UNDOKAI” was held in 27 countries, and about 40,000 people so far participated in the sports festival. As the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games are approaching, SFT Consortium members will continue to organise the “UNDOKAI” around the world as many children as possible can experience the values of sports from the “UNDOKAI”.