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The Zimbabwe national netball team, the Gems, has put Zimbabwe on the map and made Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom especially and at home very proud to fly the national flag.
When we called for support to the girl child on these very pages a few months ago in the run-up to the World Cup in Liverpool, we sought to encourage the nation to spread the love and not just concentrate on the national football team.
Little did we know then that our Gems were going to grab the opportunity and repay the faith that thousands, nay millions of Zimbabweans had shown in them by supporting them with resources and prayers on their journey to greatness.
We believe the girls have gone even beyond their expectations before the tournament. And for that, we are immensely proud of them. Our netball team beat Sri Lanka, Northern Ireland and Barbados and they were scheduled to play Malawi later on Thursday.
This will see the ladies’ team being in the top eight sides in the world, from 13 before the World Cup.
This is the stuff that excites supporters and sponsors alike, the stuff that has kept us glued to our television sets — whenever we had power — and got us so thoroughly proud to be Zimbabwean.
Sport is supposed to unite and the pictures coming out of Liverpool showing the Zimbabweans, South Africans and other nationalities celebrating the Gems just melted our hearts.
However, while we celebrate our Gems and prepare a grand homecoming party for them, let us remain mindful of the many hurdles that women’s sport still faces.
The Gems are a courageous lot since many of the women are doing it for the love of the game, rather than financial rewards since there are none in the local leagues.
Having shown so much potential and not only excited Zimbabwe but the rest of the world, we believe our netballers deserve more support from corporates and the Government, not just during major tournaments but in developing the sport and ensuring that ladies can earn a living from it.
Recently we had the United States women’s soccer team lifting the World Cup for the fourth time and wild celebrations tempered by their calls for equal pay, especially against the background of television viewership records.
We may not necessarily wake up tomorrow on equal pay of national sides in one fell swoop, but we should be moving in that direction.
The days of poor stars should be behind us by now so that we do not associate our heroes with zeroes anymore.
We believe the netball side may not fully appreciate the lessons that they have given to the nation but we are grateful for their display, for showing the power of resilience, sacrifice and national pride.
Online Reporter