Deputy Director of Sports responsible for School Sports in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Mary Waya, has urged women to volunteer in sports associations to gain experience and position themselves for leadership opportunities.

Waya said volunteering provides women with an opportunity to gain recognition, build experience and develop the skills needed to take up leadership positions in sports administration.

She was speaking at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe yesterday during the graduation ceremony of 51 women from Cohort Three of the Women in Sports Leadership Programme.

The programme, which started in June, seeks to equip women with the confidence, knowledge and skills to assume leadership roles in sports associations and contribute to the development of sport in Malawi.

One of the graduates, Vanessa Phiri, an employee of the Malawi Defence Force (MDF), said the programme had boosted her confidence and motivated her to pursue leadership positions in sport.

Phiri said she would share the knowledge and skills acquired with fellow female soldiers at Kamuzu Barracks to encourage more women to participate in sports leadership.

Implemented under the Sport for All initiative, the Women in Sports Leadership Programme seeks to increase women’s participation in sports administration and the number of women occupying leadership positions in sports associations across the country.