Sundaymail EditorVeronica Gwaze
“This position is a vote of confidence in my capabilities and I am humbled to be chosen again.
“We have managed to send our teams to both continental and international competitions, despite the difficulties and what this shows are the strides we have made towards meeting our obligations as leaders.
These were the words of the Zimbabwe Netball Association president Leticia Chipandu, upon her re-election at the helm of netball administration back in 2012.It’s been roughly seven years since that awe inspiring speech, and in the time since and the steadfast administrator has navigated the rough terrain of leadership with both tact and that motherly bravado.
Well, that was until now.
Netball is a house divided, playing out like movie as the nation watches, and Chipandu cast as the enemy.
The sport runs the threat of dropping the ball on the eve of its finest hour when the Gems make their maiden trip to the Netball World Cup slated for July 12-21 in Liverpool, England.
In exactly 109 days, the country will join hands with the top netball nations in the world to slug it out for the coveted trophy and bragging rights; a first since the World Cup’s inception back in 1963.But petty politics seems to be the talk of the day as the feud between Zina and the Rainbow Netball Amateur League looks to be more than just a sideshow.
Only last week, five more clubs- namely Police Sides Mambas, Support Unit, PPU, ZRP Harare- jumped ship to follow the dollar and join the RANL.
Chipandu has unfortunately taken the brunt of the blame in this split with words like ego, self-interest and selfish being used to describe her actions or lack of; something a source privy to the goings on at Zina has vehemently denied.
“It is sad that she (Chipandu) is misunderstood by many and they throw and twist every word she says back to her face.
“While everyone has their own weakness, it must be acknowledged that she also has hers but let us also learn to acknowledge the job she has done. “Despite sponsorship woes, she has always gone out of her way- sometimes digging into her own pockets- just to put the Gems in the best possible situation,” said the source.
The anonymity of the source speaks volumes the petty politics that currently exist within the sport; but it must be remembered that Chipandu is the answer and not the problem. The spilt between Zina and RANL is a constitutional matter, not necessarily one of personal characters, and one that can be addressed in due course.
For now, the all the energy and resources should be channeled at one thing- the World Cup. This notion of RANL players not being eligible for selection should be thwart forthwith and the two camps should put their squabbles for the common good.
Much like the sport itself, Chipandu has a lot to lose should the country fail to travel or make an impact at the games.
Her legacy will be etched in stone with a good showing.
It’s taken 13 years, at the helm of netball leadership, to get to this point and this will be a first for her and the sport since 1963.
A good showing would fit nicely with her other achievements which include, taking the country to their first World Youth Cup in Botswana back in 2017, leading the seniors to gold at the Pent series in Namibia and her seat at the continental high table as vice president of the Africa Netball.
Online Reporter