FRANCIS CHIPALO writes
@SunZambia
WE want a league for Nsolo because the game keeps us busy and keeps senior citizens from vices such as beer drinking and smoking which are dangerous to our health, says Mtendere Nsolo Club chairman Timothy Mphande.
Mphande said elders had the desire to participate in traditional sports such as Nsolo and appealed to the corporate world for sponsorship.
Speaking in an interview with the Sun Sports in Lusaka yesterday, Mphande said the re-establishment of a league for Nsolo would promote the sport among elders in various communities in the capital and Zambia at large.
He said elders were being left out in a number of sports activities, and that Nsolo was one of the easiest sports old people could play to keep fit.
“We used to have a league for Nsolo some time back but I think it stopped due to lack of sponsorship and we are appealing to sponsors to come on board and help us re-establish the league,” Mphande said.
And Mphande said his club which had been in existence for over 20 years was ready for competition with other clubs if the league was to be re-introduced.
Mphande said his club used to compete against Matero, Ng’ombe and Chawama Nsolo clubs among others. “Nowadays we just play among ourselves for fun and when we meet at our club level, we even discuss issues affecting us as elders. Some of our members have even stopped drinking and smoking because they spend most of their time here with us playing Nsolo,
“So this sport is helping us address a number of vices associated with elders,” Mphande explained.
Meanwhile, Pickey Banda, a Darts player but who recently joined the Nsolo club because the Darts season was still on a break encouraged elders to always keep active as opposed to being idle.
“To my fellow senior citizens, I urge them to desist from excess consumption of alcohol and smoking as you know that old age comes with a lot of complications so it is better to take part in such sports like Nsolo and Darts,” said Banda.
Nsolo also called Chisolo is the Zambian version of mancala. It is a game played by scooping holes in the ground and using small stones or Mongongo nuts for playing pieces.
Two players scoop four rows of holes in the ground and begin to play, usually with the help of a number of bystanders.
However, carved wooden game boards have also existed from earlier years.