OYDC Zambia has received its long-awaited state-of-the-art multipurpose flooring, donated to the National Olympic Committee of Zambia by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA).

The story began in 2021 when OYDC Zambia announced that it was in the process of renovating its "dilapidated" facilities. The process was facilitated by the National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ), which was selected among other National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in the region to benefit from a sponsorship agreement signed between the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and Gerflor, a leading and renowned company in the world of flooring.

The significant donation is part of OYDC Zambia's 2023-2028 strategic plan, which focuses on investing in facilities to support elite sport in this southern African country of nearly 20 million people.

Dr Fredrick Chitangala, Executive Director of OYDC Zambia, expressed his excitement at the arrival of the long-awaited donation and provided details: "This is the flooring for our multipurpose room, consisting of 35 pieces of carpet, and we hope to install it in the main hall within the next 30 days. This floor has been eagerly awaited; it was donated by ANOCA in 2022 and arrived in Dar es Salaam in May 2023. As you know, our 2023-2028 strategic plan focuses heavily on facilities maintenance and this is just the beginning of that journey. 

Not only is this room one of Dr Chitangala's goals, but he also mentioned that as part of the five-year strategic plan, they are working with the government through the Ministry of Youth, Sports and the Arts to get support and renovate some of the facilities such as the boxing hall, the athletics track and some outdoor courts.

National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ) secretary general Boniface Kambikambi said OYDC Zambia was meant to be a high performance centre and that the facilities had to be in good condition: "As NOCZ, we have been waiting for this so that we can give our elite athletes the opportunity to use some of the facilities found in international centres. It took a bit of time to get here; there were some challenges with the shipping company and it was held up at the port in Tanzania." 

"The NOC had to intervene to help OYDC facilitate this and make sure that the carpet was in Zambia, knowing that there would be some extra costs involved. I looked at the quality of the material; it has a good wood finish. It is the first of its kind here in Zambia," concluded the Secretary General.