Kigali, 28^th August 2023 – Rwanda through the Ministry of Education and Rwanda Schools Sports Federation organized the 20th edition of the Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) games which were held in Huye and Gisagara Districts in the Southern Province from the 17^th-27^th August 2023.

The championships aim at nurturing the “East African Spirit” by enabling secondary school students to visit different geographical sites in East Africa while also learning and being familiar with different cultures through sports contests. The contestants are the players from qualified school teams (2 teams in each discipline) among all member countries at the national level.

The 2023 FEASSSA games were attended by 2822 participants (Rwanda:460; Kenya:939; Uganda:1059; Tanzania: 364) from primary and secondary schools who were competing in the 13 following sporting disciplines:

• Football,
• Basketball,
• Netball,
• Handball,
• Rugby,
• Hockey,
• Athletics,
• Badminton,
• Lawn tennis,
• Swimming,
• Goalball.

The opening ceremony of the 20th edition FEASSSA games was officiated by the former Minister of Education Dr.Valentine Uwamariya on 19/08/2023 at Huye Stadium. Rwanda was represented in all disciplines apart from hockey and goalball games which are not included in Rwandan school sports.

Prior to the official opening of FEASSSA2023, all the athletes were invited by the authorities of Huye and Gisagara to participate in the community works “Umuganda” on 19/08/2023 whereby all of them joined the former Minister of Education Dr. Valentine Uwamariya, the Governor of the Southern Province Mrs Alice Kayitesi, the Mayor of Huye District Mr. Ange Sebutege in cleaning the surrounding environment by collecting plastic waste to protect the environment.

FEASSSA 2023 was also an opportunity for all athletes to visit the surrounding community. It is in that context that on the 25^th of August 2023 there were no games and thereby all the participants had free time. Some of them went to the King’s Palace in Nyanza district, others visited the exhibition underway in Huye, others visited the Genocide Memorial of Ngoma in Huye district, and the rest went about their own business.  At the same time, a one-day FEASSSA Symposium was held in Mater Boni Consilii Hotel in Huye district, whereby all the delegates from Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania met to share experiences on the best practices from each country in school sports and expose challenges and ways out.

FEASSSA Games started in 2002 and are organized annually, rotating in all EAC Member States except in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The member countries of FEASSSA are Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Burundi, and South Sudan with the Head office in Nairobi, Kenya.

Rwanda became a member of FEASSSA in 2005 and since then has participated each year in the competitions and hosted FEASSSA four times as follows:

• The 8th edition (2008) in Kigali
• The 15th edition (2015) in Huye District
• The 18th edition (2018) in Musanze District and
• The 20th edition was held in Huye, and Gisagara District

The closing ceremony of the FEASSSA Games was presided over by Hon. Minister of Sports Mrs. Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju on 27^th August 2023 at Huye Stadium in Huye District.

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