Sunday News Magazine
26 February- 3 March 2012
Since Zimbabwe achieved independence in 1980, sports lovers in the country have suffered a number of sporting heartaches because of the perennial failure by various national teams to do well on the international stage.
The biggest disappointment has been the most followed sport of football with the senior national team, the Warriors, having only appeared twice at the biennial Africa Cup of Nations- in 2004 and 2006. Zimbabwe have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup despite the country having produced some of the finest footballer in the continent such as Peter Ndlovu and Bruce Grobbelaar.
In cricket, the country only qualifies for the International Cricket Council World Cup by virtue of being one of 10 elite members of the ICC and has never really made a huge impression at the World Cup with their best showing being at the 1999 and 2003 events where they reached the Super Six stages. And surely if Zimbabwe had to qualify, they would surely find it tough against ICC associate countries like Ireland and Kenya.
Zimbabwe have since 1980 won medals at only three Olympic games, the gold medal by the women’s “Golden†hockey girls at the 1980 Moscow Olympics with swimmer Kirsty Coventry following with medals at the 2004 and 2008 editions.
In rugby, the Zimbabwe Sables are on the resurgence after winning all the five matches they played last year and have good chances of being at the 2015 International Rugby Board Rugby World Cup penciled for England.
In the event that they qualify, the Sables might find the going tough against the world’s elite teams such as South Africa, Australia, France and New Zealand unless the country manages to lure back some of its talented players who have chosen to seek better opportunities in Mzansi and overseas.
In the late 1990s Zimbabwe played amongst the best teams in tennis in the Davis Cup with the Black brothers Byron and Wayne and Kevin Ullyett putting the country on the World map. The retirement of the three played spelled doom for the country as Zimbabwe no longer competes with powerhouses in the game.
Hockey was another sport where the country used to perform well but deterioration of the artificial turf at Magamba and Khumalo stadiums saw the national teams not being able to host at home. When the turf at Khumalo was replaced last year, the long layoff affected both the women and the men’s national teams who performed dismally at the 2012 London Olympics hockey qualifiers. Both teams failed to put home advantage to full use and failed to qualify for the Olympics. By the look of things it will take Zimbabwe years to get back to where they were.
Countries with smaller populations like New Zealand and Uruguay have excelled in international sports. New Zealand are the reigning IRB Rugby World Cup champions, they are one of the top countries in both cricket and hockey. Uruguay have done well at the FIFA World Cup, winning the first edition way back in 1930 and made it into the semifinals in 2010. Closer to Zimbabwe “little†Botswana qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations at the expense of our Warriors, who have flattened to deceive in recent years.
The failure to make an impact on the international arena by the different national teams in a country of over 10 million has left many wondering if the country is indeed a sporting nation.
Sunday News sought the opinion on what really is the cause of the agony inflicted upon the expectant nation by those representing the nation.
Sports and Recreation Commission chairman Joseph James bemoaned lack of funding for sport by Government and the administration problems as the factors inhibiting the growth of sport in Zimbabwe.
“Funding for sports from the Government is not enough but that is a problem found in all sectors in the country. For example the Botswana Football Association was given lots of money to develop soccer and that is why they qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Administration is another huge problem we have with our sports in Zimbabwe, there is almost stories about administration squabbles in various sporting associations daily in our newspapers,†said James.
Since 2003, the SRC has run the National Youth Games but there has not been any athlete who has come through the annual games. James said over the years the games were tainted with all sorts of allegations, which saw parents not willing to let their children take part in these games.
The SRC boss, however said last year’s edition of the annual games held in Matabeleland South were better organized and if there could be a repeat at this years edition then the games could be on the right track to start producing athletes who might go onto excel on the international stage.
Zimbabweans are known to excel academically with parents known to discourage their children from playing sport as they think this disturbs their studies but prominent lawyer James who played soccer while at the same time pursuing academic excellence says parents should let their children play sport. He also feels the tertiary education sector is not being tapped, as there are capable sportspersons in the country’s colleges and universities. James believes that Zimbabwe does have the potential to be a great sporting nation because there is a lot of talent in the country.
Minister of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture David Coltart said efforts were being made to integrate sports into the school syllabus. Coltart noted that Zimbabwe has done well in individual sports like tennis, swimming and golf yet struggle when it comes to team sports, which is an indication of administrative shortcomings.
Marathon runner Stephen Muzhingi has won three titles at the Comrades marathon in South Africa while golfer Nick Price flew the Zimbabwean flag high and at some stage reached the number one ranking in the official world golf-ranking.
“We have done exceptionally well in individual sports but we haven’t done so well in team sports which shows our sports administrators have failed. Teams perform to their highest expectations when they have the necessary support from the administrators,†said Coltart.
On Government support for sports, Coltart feels that funds set aside by the Government are not adequate enough. He said despite funding, the Government ought to accord sports associations freedom to run their affairs without much interference.
Zimbabwe has lost some of its budding rugby talent to countries with better resources. Tendai Mtawarira, Tonderai Chavhanga, Brian Mujati came through the Zimbabwe schools system but because of lack of professional opportunities at home, they chose to play international rugby for South Africa. Australian loose forward David Pocock and United States of America winger Takudzwa Ngwenya were the other Zimbabwean born players who have made a mark on the international rugby scene playing for adopted countries.
Coltart notes that there is a big gulf between South Africa and the rest of the African continent.
“Up until we professionalise our rugby there is no way we can retain some of our talent, the young players will keep leaving the country, we do not have the resources to compete with rich countries like South Africa, Australia and New Zealand,†said Coltart.
From the look of things, Zimbabweans will continue to endure heartbreaks caused by those who don national sporting colours until those who run the sports find the right antidote to the poor performance by the national teams in international competitions.