STORY: Zambian grannies play football to keep fit
DATELINE: July 30, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:19
LOCATION: Lusaka
CATEGORY: SPORTS
 
SHOTLIST:
1. various of grannies playing football
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ELIZABETH MTONGA, Manager of YASA Grannies team
3. various of training
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinyanja): MISOZI PHIRI, 51-year-old player
5. various of training
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinyanja): MELIYA MWALE, 65-year-old player
 
STORYLINE:
 
At a community playing ground in Zambia's capital Lusaka, a group of elderly women have gathered to play football.
 
Unlike young women who take training in order to compete in tournaments, these grannies are doing it to keep healthy.
 
Formed last year, the team is one of the teams under the Youth Armory Soccer Academy (YASA), a project managed by the Youth Armory Organization.
 
SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ELIZABETH MTONGA, Manager of YASA Grannies team
"Many women who come here, they are grannies, are from 45, I think the oldest is 74 years old. Apart from keeping fit, others way back (when younger), they couldn't play and they want to play now. So, they're having fun. Mainly it's fun and keeping fit. The response has been very good."
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinyanja): MISOZI PHIRI, 51-year-old player
"It has helped me improve my health and now I can do anything, even though I once faced difficulties in doing them. In the past, I'd feel pain in my legs once I walked for a while, but it is no longer the case."
 
SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinyanja): MELIYA MWALE, 65-year-old player
"I used to feel tired easily. I used to experience bodily pains, but they are no longer a problem now. I can jump and dance. I can be as happy as a 45-year-old woman."
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Lusaka.
(XHTV)