Opinion / Columnist
Whither sport in Zimbabwe
02 Oct 2015 at 20:55hrs | Views
Micheen Thornycroft Zimbabwe Rowing - London 2012
The recently held 11th All Africa games in Congo Brazzaville has clearly exposed and shown the sorry state of sporting in this country. Surely for someone who would want to earn a living through sport will think twice before doing so. Even encouraging children who have the talent in different sporting codes is not a wise good thing to do for now. This is due to a number of issues chief among them maladministration and mismanagement which has proved incurable in the sporting industry. The postulation that sport is an industry seems not to apply in the Zimbabwean context at any level. In this article I will focus on the questions raised by the reporters who accompanied the team to the games.
I would like to delve into the same questions raised by different sports minded persons who are concerned by the state of affairs in our sporting scenario. Three questions emerged from the report; - What is the appreciation of sport in Zimbabwe? What is the appreciation of athletes' welfare on national duty? Does Zimbabwe have a long term strategy going ahead after the stars are gone?
What is the appreciation of sport in Zimbabwe?
I have listened, watched and participated in sports in the country and I am now fully convinced that the state of sport in the country is going into an abyss. I grew up watching the Blacks playing tennis, listening to soccer commentary on the radio every Sunday, I knew every player in the soccer premier league and their clubs. But that was only some few sporting codes soccer, tennis and cricket to some extent. There are so many sporting codes in the country that some have never seen the light of day in any form of media reportage. I knew about Kilimanjaro because he was the news in those days so was the Blacks tennis reign, Coventry's swimming exploits etc. Some sporting codes were well covered then .This shows that there is some bias towards reportage of sporting codes by the media such that some sporting codes does not receive any mention however highly they might have performed, the media does not give a hoot. A recent example is of the now renowned boxer Manyuchi whom most of the people began to know after his last two bouts but he was here all along fighting and winning battles. His reallocation to Zambia has to do with more of this than anything else. When is the last time we have heard of the exploits of the national netball league in the electronic and print media.
We are the worst in terms of sports achievements than most of our neighbours who have appeared in either the Africa cup of nations in soccer showcase or world cup tournaments of any kind more often than us. Who knows that we are the reigning darts champions in the region for two years in a row both in the men and women category. How was that celebrated in Zimbabwe than a mere mention in the inset of one daily paper. We have seen athletes coming from international sojourn who have performed well being received by their supporters and their kith men in the instigation by their ministry or sport regulation authorities. What do we do here in Zimbabwe leaves a lot to be desired. I know of daily and weekly papers which have acres of space for one single sporting code-soccer and have gone to the extent of having columns dedicated to soccer issues again. Other daily papers have acres highlighting foreign soccer leagues and covering news from there on a daily basis. When it comes to local sporting codes it is-when-it- is-necessary.
Even on most of the broadcasting media in Zimbabwe when they talk of sports news it's about soccer and most of the news is repetition as it would have been covered by all the other media already. In most of the appalling scenarios it is all about foreign sports leagues. With the advent of technology most of the people have access to the foreign sports news than our own because no one is covering it.
Recently the Zimbabwe darts team juniors went to Namibia for a regional tournament and came second from Botswana and the story was covered in only one paper, but we want to champion sports and promote the juniors to replace the elders. I remember sometime trying to ask for space for darts articles in three of the daily papers and the answer was not enough space to put those articles. Most journalists in Zimbabwe need to be paid to attend and cover sporting events unless there is some scandals to write about.
Last year Zimbabwe hoisted the Region' V' Darts championships and it is surprising to note that there was no daily coverage of the event like the All Africa games event. The corporate world was not forthcoming to support the event either. This disease of looking down upon certain sporting codes, is catching up with all other so called super sporting codes than it was with the elite sports. It is disturbing to note that a country like us cannot assemble a cycling team, handball team, archery team etc. The world over sports have grown with the support of the media, corporate world and government. Sport is an industry on its own why it is not flourishing in Zimbabwe is a cause for concern.
Sports management and administration in Zimbabwe is a problem as we seem not to do anything right save for a few sporting codes like karate, darts etc. Most of the super sports codes are riddled with power struggles or mismanagement of some sort. Most of the sporting codes associations in this country are burning with unresolved issues of some kind. To mention a few perennial problematic eyesores- handball, men and women soccer fraternity are burning with no sign of ending soon, not to mention the endless Z.I.F.A saga. The women league is not active because the person leading the league is not the right person, so sponsorship could not be availed in the instance. The standoff goes on and on without no sign of ending while the Sports and Recreation Commission is at work, while at the same time we need to prepare for all these regional and international tournaments, get sponsorship and perform well with all these unsolved problems on us.
The sports commission has failed to take charge in disciplining wayward elements in the various sporting codes resulting in the demonization of sports. Many sporting associations in the country are in some squabbles of some sort or another. Some have gone for a long period than necessary that interest of people in supporting such sporting codes and sports in general is waning very fast. Someone has to take charge and ensure that undisciplined and malcontents in the sports management and administrative roles are banished from getting into any sports administrative role again.
There is an absence of awareness as to what is required to have athletes for competitions such as the All Africa games. We only here of the impending games three months down the line. The responsibility to inform the various sporting codes of sporting codes eligible for a competition lies with the SRC.I do not remember if such meetings are done at all. I remember the Olympic committee awareness in Chitungwiza but that was in the wake of the 2014 Olympics. Why not do it yearly so as to keep the nation well informed of the road to Rio 2016.I remember Usain Bolt saying he is done with 2015 and focusing on Rio 2016, a man with a mission indeed. What about us with our meagre resources and facilities we need more time and that time is now. We need to take stock of all sporting codes and access their level of preparedness and capability to qualify and make the grade for the impending regional and international competitions now and follow up programme put in place.
I remember also that during the 90s cricket would be aired on TV the whole days of the series or internationals without interruptions and would cause changes to the normal viewing of the public because there was money being put into airing the events. This brings me to the next point that is affecting our sport in the country, there is no business will by the current crop of business people these days to venture into sports sponsorship. The corporate section in Zimbabwe is not moved at all. The recent Mighty Warriors failure to travel to Cote d'ivoire because they were short of $67 000-00 is recent example that comes to mind.
Since the end of the 1995 All Africa games held in the country the aquatic complex and tennis courts in Chitungwiza saw their last action. The Mbare netball complex is also one such sports facility now being used to hoist musical shows. Nothing was done to follow-up on the use of the facilities. The hiring of the facilities for hoisting sports events is so exorbitant that no one dares think about using them. The responsible authorities think in monetary terms such that some of the facilities are deteriorating in alarming rate .Chibuku stadium is one such facility in the heart of Chitungwiza, a white elephant which last seen action in the early 2000. There is nothing being done by the Sports and Recreation Commission to see to it that these facilities are put to good use in terms of nurturing sports.
The Sports and Recreation Commission serves no meaningful purpose to administer sports by laying the rules and regulations of holding sports instead it should be empowered to control stadiums, sports complex such that it can regulate sports holistically. With the gross mismanagement that is rife in many city councils in the country nothing much will be realized from the sports facilities as proceeds from hiring of the facilities is not used to refurbish them but for other purposes. I also have seen that since the dearth of sports clubs in various areas in the country sports have taken a nose dive. Many of the sports clubs which were flourishing in the country have either closed or have deteriorated to unimaginable levels that they have been turned to bottle store for selling liquor. Those who have taken over or left to take care of the facilities have failed dismally. These are areas where talent would be borne and nurtured to be appreciated by the nation. With the dearth of sports clubs where will talent be borne and nurtured? While the sports clubs were being annihilated nothing was done to ensure that they were left intact by various responsible stakeholders.
What is the appreciation of athletes' welfare on national duty?
I have seen yesteryear sports stars wallow in poverty after their heydays have gone into the twilight zone. Mainly soccer sports persons are notably in them failing to live the good life during and after their career has seen better days. I will not mention names of renowned sports persons who have died paupers not because they were not responsible but sport in this country does not pay, it's like a pass time kind of thing. To the few who were luck to meet the president have been awarded handsomely in monetary terms. The responsible ministry pays lip service to athletes' welfare despite there being a well-documented policy on sports in this country. The sorry state of our preparation and attendance shows in our results.
For those who went for the 11th edition of the Congo Brazzaville games the report exposed the meagre allowance that the Zimbabwean team got on their outing to Congo a meagre $25-00 compared to other countries like Kenya which gave their athletes $50-00 per day for local allowance and $100-00 per day for foreign trips and $1500-00 for gold medal and so on. What was our plan to reward our athletes if at all it was there. I have read numerous stories of players boycotting training sessions, staging sit- in on match days and recently a kind of hostage situation. While all this is happening the Sports and Recreation Commission mandated to administer sports in the country does nothing. For many times immemorial the sports section has been attached and removed from the ministry of education and culture so many times that I have lost count. I have heard countless times people calling for patriotism when it comes to sports but not on them putting a hand to help the cause. If we are so patriotic why could we not contribute R1/10 cents for the Mighty Warriors to travel to Cote d'ivoire or other sporting codes which needed a few dollars to fulfil some regional games.
The Sports and Recreation Commission should call for an indaba of all sporting codes in the country to find a solution to funding sporting codes going for regional and international competitions. We cannot go among other nations to show up our sorry state of affairs year in year out. The ministry or sports commission should come up with some rewards of some sort to companies who support sports to encourage the corporate world to sponsor different sporting codes.
Does Zimbabwe have a long term strategy going ahead after the stars are gone?
In some few sporting codes the plans maybe there to keep churning out replacement stars. History has shown us our strategy falls short in most instances. The rise and fall of Kilimanjaro took a longtime to find another star to fill his shoes. The same can be said of the Black family's tennis exploits and now it is the departure of swimming ace Coventry that will live to haunt us while we wait for another star to rise from nowhere. If my memory serves me well this sport is still the reserve for the whites because of our lack of management of sports facilities. A tour of the only swimming pool in Highfields can testify to this. There should be a provision for sporting associations to have stakes in the sporting facilities to ensure that there is maximum uitlisation and benefit by athletes. Take for instance the aquatic complex is wholly under the Ministry of Local government an entity which has nothing to do with sports in general. The fees for use of the complex are so exorbitant that it has never been used since, while we yearn for swimming stars to take the button left by Coventry.
Developing and nurturing young talent involves a lot of issues as these youngsters have school to deal with among their welfare, transportation, security etc. That kind of issues cannot be sustained in our case. Most of the people in sports today sustain themselves in all issues that going professional is not an area one can think of. Those who have done so have gone out of the country like the Mtawarira and Ngwenyas of rugby among others.
Among these few stars only a handful lived the good life from sports earnings, hence enthusiasms to take up sports to earn a living is dwindling by the day. If you go in the high density suburbs where most of the young and unemployed youths live there is hardly any sporting club of any sort that you will find. The few sporting clubs in the low density areas are a reserve of the employed with their own means of transport to access these clubs. Without sporting clubs for training how and where will the skills be nurtured. I do not know of any boxing club, tennis courts, basketball courts, cricket grounds and volleyball grounds in most of the high density suburbs. It is no doubt that talent is abound in this country but it is a case of yet so near yet so far…………/
Compiled by Collen Maenda
I would like to delve into the same questions raised by different sports minded persons who are concerned by the state of affairs in our sporting scenario. Three questions emerged from the report; - What is the appreciation of sport in Zimbabwe? What is the appreciation of athletes' welfare on national duty? Does Zimbabwe have a long term strategy going ahead after the stars are gone?
What is the appreciation of sport in Zimbabwe?
I have listened, watched and participated in sports in the country and I am now fully convinced that the state of sport in the country is going into an abyss. I grew up watching the Blacks playing tennis, listening to soccer commentary on the radio every Sunday, I knew every player in the soccer premier league and their clubs. But that was only some few sporting codes soccer, tennis and cricket to some extent. There are so many sporting codes in the country that some have never seen the light of day in any form of media reportage. I knew about Kilimanjaro because he was the news in those days so was the Blacks tennis reign, Coventry's swimming exploits etc. Some sporting codes were well covered then .This shows that there is some bias towards reportage of sporting codes by the media such that some sporting codes does not receive any mention however highly they might have performed, the media does not give a hoot. A recent example is of the now renowned boxer Manyuchi whom most of the people began to know after his last two bouts but he was here all along fighting and winning battles. His reallocation to Zambia has to do with more of this than anything else. When is the last time we have heard of the exploits of the national netball league in the electronic and print media.
We are the worst in terms of sports achievements than most of our neighbours who have appeared in either the Africa cup of nations in soccer showcase or world cup tournaments of any kind more often than us. Who knows that we are the reigning darts champions in the region for two years in a row both in the men and women category. How was that celebrated in Zimbabwe than a mere mention in the inset of one daily paper. We have seen athletes coming from international sojourn who have performed well being received by their supporters and their kith men in the instigation by their ministry or sport regulation authorities. What do we do here in Zimbabwe leaves a lot to be desired. I know of daily and weekly papers which have acres of space for one single sporting code-soccer and have gone to the extent of having columns dedicated to soccer issues again. Other daily papers have acres highlighting foreign soccer leagues and covering news from there on a daily basis. When it comes to local sporting codes it is-when-it- is-necessary.
Even on most of the broadcasting media in Zimbabwe when they talk of sports news it's about soccer and most of the news is repetition as it would have been covered by all the other media already. In most of the appalling scenarios it is all about foreign sports leagues. With the advent of technology most of the people have access to the foreign sports news than our own because no one is covering it.
Recently the Zimbabwe darts team juniors went to Namibia for a regional tournament and came second from Botswana and the story was covered in only one paper, but we want to champion sports and promote the juniors to replace the elders. I remember sometime trying to ask for space for darts articles in three of the daily papers and the answer was not enough space to put those articles. Most journalists in Zimbabwe need to be paid to attend and cover sporting events unless there is some scandals to write about.
Last year Zimbabwe hoisted the Region' V' Darts championships and it is surprising to note that there was no daily coverage of the event like the All Africa games event. The corporate world was not forthcoming to support the event either. This disease of looking down upon certain sporting codes, is catching up with all other so called super sporting codes than it was with the elite sports. It is disturbing to note that a country like us cannot assemble a cycling team, handball team, archery team etc. The world over sports have grown with the support of the media, corporate world and government. Sport is an industry on its own why it is not flourishing in Zimbabwe is a cause for concern.
Sports management and administration in Zimbabwe is a problem as we seem not to do anything right save for a few sporting codes like karate, darts etc. Most of the super sports codes are riddled with power struggles or mismanagement of some sort. Most of the sporting codes associations in this country are burning with unresolved issues of some kind. To mention a few perennial problematic eyesores- handball, men and women soccer fraternity are burning with no sign of ending soon, not to mention the endless Z.I.F.A saga. The women league is not active because the person leading the league is not the right person, so sponsorship could not be availed in the instance. The standoff goes on and on without no sign of ending while the Sports and Recreation Commission is at work, while at the same time we need to prepare for all these regional and international tournaments, get sponsorship and perform well with all these unsolved problems on us.
The sports commission has failed to take charge in disciplining wayward elements in the various sporting codes resulting in the demonization of sports. Many sporting associations in the country are in some squabbles of some sort or another. Some have gone for a long period than necessary that interest of people in supporting such sporting codes and sports in general is waning very fast. Someone has to take charge and ensure that undisciplined and malcontents in the sports management and administrative roles are banished from getting into any sports administrative role again.
There is an absence of awareness as to what is required to have athletes for competitions such as the All Africa games. We only here of the impending games three months down the line. The responsibility to inform the various sporting codes of sporting codes eligible for a competition lies with the SRC.I do not remember if such meetings are done at all. I remember the Olympic committee awareness in Chitungwiza but that was in the wake of the 2014 Olympics. Why not do it yearly so as to keep the nation well informed of the road to Rio 2016.I remember Usain Bolt saying he is done with 2015 and focusing on Rio 2016, a man with a mission indeed. What about us with our meagre resources and facilities we need more time and that time is now. We need to take stock of all sporting codes and access their level of preparedness and capability to qualify and make the grade for the impending regional and international competitions now and follow up programme put in place.
I remember also that during the 90s cricket would be aired on TV the whole days of the series or internationals without interruptions and would cause changes to the normal viewing of the public because there was money being put into airing the events. This brings me to the next point that is affecting our sport in the country, there is no business will by the current crop of business people these days to venture into sports sponsorship. The corporate section in Zimbabwe is not moved at all. The recent Mighty Warriors failure to travel to Cote d'ivoire because they were short of $67 000-00 is recent example that comes to mind.
Since the end of the 1995 All Africa games held in the country the aquatic complex and tennis courts in Chitungwiza saw their last action. The Mbare netball complex is also one such sports facility now being used to hoist musical shows. Nothing was done to follow-up on the use of the facilities. The hiring of the facilities for hoisting sports events is so exorbitant that no one dares think about using them. The responsible authorities think in monetary terms such that some of the facilities are deteriorating in alarming rate .Chibuku stadium is one such facility in the heart of Chitungwiza, a white elephant which last seen action in the early 2000. There is nothing being done by the Sports and Recreation Commission to see to it that these facilities are put to good use in terms of nurturing sports.
The Sports and Recreation Commission serves no meaningful purpose to administer sports by laying the rules and regulations of holding sports instead it should be empowered to control stadiums, sports complex such that it can regulate sports holistically. With the gross mismanagement that is rife in many city councils in the country nothing much will be realized from the sports facilities as proceeds from hiring of the facilities is not used to refurbish them but for other purposes. I also have seen that since the dearth of sports clubs in various areas in the country sports have taken a nose dive. Many of the sports clubs which were flourishing in the country have either closed or have deteriorated to unimaginable levels that they have been turned to bottle store for selling liquor. Those who have taken over or left to take care of the facilities have failed dismally. These are areas where talent would be borne and nurtured to be appreciated by the nation. With the dearth of sports clubs where will talent be borne and nurtured? While the sports clubs were being annihilated nothing was done to ensure that they were left intact by various responsible stakeholders.
What is the appreciation of athletes' welfare on national duty?
I have seen yesteryear sports stars wallow in poverty after their heydays have gone into the twilight zone. Mainly soccer sports persons are notably in them failing to live the good life during and after their career has seen better days. I will not mention names of renowned sports persons who have died paupers not because they were not responsible but sport in this country does not pay, it's like a pass time kind of thing. To the few who were luck to meet the president have been awarded handsomely in monetary terms. The responsible ministry pays lip service to athletes' welfare despite there being a well-documented policy on sports in this country. The sorry state of our preparation and attendance shows in our results.
For those who went for the 11th edition of the Congo Brazzaville games the report exposed the meagre allowance that the Zimbabwean team got on their outing to Congo a meagre $25-00 compared to other countries like Kenya which gave their athletes $50-00 per day for local allowance and $100-00 per day for foreign trips and $1500-00 for gold medal and so on. What was our plan to reward our athletes if at all it was there. I have read numerous stories of players boycotting training sessions, staging sit- in on match days and recently a kind of hostage situation. While all this is happening the Sports and Recreation Commission mandated to administer sports in the country does nothing. For many times immemorial the sports section has been attached and removed from the ministry of education and culture so many times that I have lost count. I have heard countless times people calling for patriotism when it comes to sports but not on them putting a hand to help the cause. If we are so patriotic why could we not contribute R1/10 cents for the Mighty Warriors to travel to Cote d'ivoire or other sporting codes which needed a few dollars to fulfil some regional games.
The Sports and Recreation Commission should call for an indaba of all sporting codes in the country to find a solution to funding sporting codes going for regional and international competitions. We cannot go among other nations to show up our sorry state of affairs year in year out. The ministry or sports commission should come up with some rewards of some sort to companies who support sports to encourage the corporate world to sponsor different sporting codes.
Does Zimbabwe have a long term strategy going ahead after the stars are gone?
In some few sporting codes the plans maybe there to keep churning out replacement stars. History has shown us our strategy falls short in most instances. The rise and fall of Kilimanjaro took a longtime to find another star to fill his shoes. The same can be said of the Black family's tennis exploits and now it is the departure of swimming ace Coventry that will live to haunt us while we wait for another star to rise from nowhere. If my memory serves me well this sport is still the reserve for the whites because of our lack of management of sports facilities. A tour of the only swimming pool in Highfields can testify to this. There should be a provision for sporting associations to have stakes in the sporting facilities to ensure that there is maximum uitlisation and benefit by athletes. Take for instance the aquatic complex is wholly under the Ministry of Local government an entity which has nothing to do with sports in general. The fees for use of the complex are so exorbitant that it has never been used since, while we yearn for swimming stars to take the button left by Coventry.
Developing and nurturing young talent involves a lot of issues as these youngsters have school to deal with among their welfare, transportation, security etc. That kind of issues cannot be sustained in our case. Most of the people in sports today sustain themselves in all issues that going professional is not an area one can think of. Those who have done so have gone out of the country like the Mtawarira and Ngwenyas of rugby among others.
Among these few stars only a handful lived the good life from sports earnings, hence enthusiasms to take up sports to earn a living is dwindling by the day. If you go in the high density suburbs where most of the young and unemployed youths live there is hardly any sporting club of any sort that you will find. The few sporting clubs in the low density areas are a reserve of the employed with their own means of transport to access these clubs. Without sporting clubs for training how and where will the skills be nurtured. I do not know of any boxing club, tennis courts, basketball courts, cricket grounds and volleyball grounds in most of the high density suburbs. It is no doubt that talent is abound in this country but it is a case of yet so near yet so far…………/
Compiled by Collen Maenda
Source - Collen Maenda
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