Morogoro, Tanzania fit to host 2026 FEASSA games, say officials

FEASSA Rugby 15's champions Kisii School during a training session at the institution/ANGWENYI GICHANA

Morogoro, Tanzania, will host the 23rd edition of the Federation of East African Schools' Sports Association (FEASSA) from August 12-23. 

FEASSA Secretary General, David Ngugi, said they are satisfied with the facilities in the city in Eastern Tanzania, approximately 196 kilometres west of Dar-es-salaam.

The annual showpiece brings together primary and secondary schools from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania. 

Kenya is the defending champion after dethroning Uganda during last year’s championships held in Kakamega.

Speaking after an inspection tour of the accommodation and venues for the games by the FEASSA executive committee, Ngugi said they are confident Morogoro will host a successful championship.

“Morogoro is a nice place. It has enough accommodation and sports facilities, including standard swimming pools to stage an excellent championship,” said Ngugi, who is also the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) Secretary General.

He said they were also impressed by Morogoro’s accessibility via modern transport, including the Standard Gauge Railway, which will ease the movement of officials and teams during the games.

Ngugi said the main competition venue will be at Morogoro Teachers College (MOTCO). Other games like cricket will be held at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). SUA will also be the accommodation village for boys’ secondary school teams, while girls will be housed at Kilikala High School and Morogoro Teachers College (MOTCO).

Bernhard Mendel Primary School will host Special Needs Education (SNE) students, while Morogoro High School will accommodate primary school teams.

The 2026 games are likely to feature an expanded calendar following a proposal to add new sports. The proposed events are cricket, lacrosse, beach volleyball, beach football, cross country, and baseball. Beach volleyball and lacrosse featured in last year’s edition in Kakamega as demonstration sports.

Chess was officially included in the FEASSA calendar last year. In the primary school category, there's a proposal to integrate handball, tennis, badminton, table tennis, and cross-country in the programme. Primary schools only compete in athletics, netball, football, and volleyball at FEASSA level.

The KSSSA executive and Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held in the next two weeks, with the proposed introduction of the new disciplines at the top of the agenda.

Kisii School, the reigning FEASSA rugby 15s champion, has already declared its intention to retain the title, which they won in Kakamega last year. Coach George Morara said, “Our target is to retain our title this year.”