Golfers from 15 countries for Inspire Africa tournament

Dar es Salaam. Golfers from more than 15 countries will compete in the Inspire Africa Golf tournament scheduled to teeoff tomorrow at the Kilimanjaro Golf and Wildlife Estate course, alias Kili Golf Course.

The tournament will feature both professional and amateur golfers numbering 120 from all categories, according to Tanzania Golf Union (TGU) chairman Gilman Kasiga.

The event is part of the ongoing Festival of Major African Arts, Sports, and Culture (FESTAC) currently taking place in Arusha.

Some of the countries are Costa Rica, the United States of America, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, and the host country, Tanzania.

He explained that the festival is taking place in Tanzania for the second time after it was held last year in Zanzibar.

He said, apart from golf, the festival also has other sporting events such as the "Inspire Soccer Camp "and "Inspire Basketball Camp".

“The tournament is organized through the ‘Festival of Major African Arts, Sports, and Culture,’ in association with the Tanzania Golf Union. We are expecting a very exciting and thrilling event. Many golfers will compete, targeting victories," said Kasiga.

According to Kasiga, celebrating culture with science and sports is a great way to bring Africa together. He said Festac is achieving this in style.

"As TGU, we bring golf into this package, and we are proud to be part of this festival. We want to make this an annual event and align it to enhance Africa's networking.

“I believe that the festival can be one of the important vehicles to accelerate the achievements of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).

“Sports and culture have a common language, and golf is the perfect sport for that. Karibu Africa, Karibu Arusha," said Kasiga.

Festac experiences in Arusha are supported by Oryx Energies in Tanzania, which is specialized in the storage and distribution of fuels such as petroleum-based fuels, liquid petroleum gas, and lubricants.

The marketing manager, Peter Ndomba, said they are bankrolling the events to the tune of $5,000.

For his part, the chairperson of Festac, Yinka Abioye, said the festival is meant to bring together Africans from all over the world to build the spirit of pan-Africanism through arts, culture, and sports.

"Festac, which was founded back in 1966, has been taking place every two years, and now we want the event to be staged in the month of May, which is the official African Month," said Abioye.

The festival is the continent’s biggest festival and is a celebration of cultures and heritage in the form of arts, fashion, music, story-telling, poetry, film, short stories, travel, tourism, hospitality, food, and dance.

 They are all accomplished through live performances from various countries in Africa and across the world, sharing and showcasing the richness of their cultures.