The new government had spent its first day with hundreds of athletes taking part in the great Sports Festival held on Sunday.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was joined at the event which kicked off at Number 1 Jetty area by Vice President Faisal Naseem, Speaker of Parliament Qasim Ibrahim, sports minister Ahmed Mahloof, ministers, senior political members and former presidents, all of whom actively took part in the events.

While hundreds of athletes took part in the festival, all national sports associations, many NGOs, fitness groups and runners took part in the events.
Both President and Vice President participated in most of the sports activities carried out during the festival.

While many water activities were held near the Number 1 Jetty, beach volleyball was played near Artificial Beach, surfing was carried out at Raalhugandu and skating and swimming events were carried out near the track, along with a bike race. Other events were carried out by NGOs at the stadium.

In an interview to VSports, sports minister Ahmed Mahloof said the Sports Festival is evidence of the importance of sports to the new government, and stated that they will bring about changes in the sports sector which would make the sports family extremely happy. Many developmental areas and concerning issues came to light after the new government came into office, minister Mahloof said.

Senior members of the various sports associations stated that such a festival is a great opportunity for all the sports to meet and for lawmakers and others in authority to witness the problematic areas in the sector.

The festival was brought to an end at 6:00 p.m. by a cool-down activity carried out by the fitness groups at the stadium. Concluding the event, President Solih stated that the conclusion of Sunday’s festival is not an end, but rather the festival would be held in the future as well.

During the second day of the festival, special football matches are scheduled to be carried out. The event is categorized into four parts; a special match by the under-19 national football team, match between under-19 women’s national football team and senior women’s national football team, match by football legends of the country, and lastly a match between the political individuals in the country, including MPs and former presidents.