admin
Collin Matiza Sports Editor
THE usually sleepy Midlands city of Gweru will this weekend come alive when it hosts one of the biggest handball tournaments to be staged in Zimbabwe — the end-of-the-year Club Championship — at Budiriro Primary School in Mkoba 11. More than 20 male and female clubs from the country’s 10 provinces have already confirmed their participation in this tournament, which is the baby of the Zimbabwe Handball Federation.
This two-day tournament, which was initially scheduled for December last year but was moved to this month, will officially mark the start of what promises to be a busy 2014 handball season as it will also see a number of clubs competing in the newly-formed Premier Handball League.
Senzeni Bushe, one of the organisers of this weekend’s end-of-the-year Club Championship tournament in Gweru, said yesterday that all was in place and they were more than ready to stage this historic event.
Bushe, who is also the ZHF’s women’s national chairperson, said 28 clubs have already confirmed their participation in this two-day event which starts at 8.30am today.
“So far, 28 clubs have registered to take part in this event which is one of the biggest handball tournaments to be staged in Zimbabwe and it will bring together all the top male and female clubs who will be battling it out for the top honours over two days.
“We will put all these teams into two pools for both men and women, and matches will be played the whole day tomorrow (today) with the semi-finals and finals set for Sunday afternoon,” Bushe said.
Zimbabwe’s traditional handball heavyweights JZ Moyo of Matabeleland South Province are one of the country’s top clubs that have entered for this weekend’s Club Championship tournament and will field a men’s side.
Midlands Province will be represented by five clubs — Budiriro Rovers (men and women), Kwekwe’s City Sharks (men), Midlands State University (men and women), Guinea Fowl (men and women) and Chirumhanzu (men).
Masvingo Province will have two clubs at this tournament — Rufaro (men and women) and Danhamombe (men and women) — while Shanana, UCE Teachers’ College and Ajax will be coming from Bulawayo.
Shanana are sending a men’s team, UCE Teachers’ College a women’s side while Ajax will have both their men’s and women’s sides at this tournament.
Bindura White Sharks men’s side will be representing Mashonaland Central while Mutoko Handball Club and Marondera’s Tornados will be coming from Mashonaland East Province.
Former pupils of Harare’s Girls High School have also formed a women’s handball club and will be joined at Budiriro Primary School at Mkoba 11 in Gweru this weekend by three other sides from Harare: TS Alliance (men), Manyame (men) and Morgan Zintec (men and women).
Bushe said they were also expecting a number of clubs from Mashonaland West, Matabeleland North and Manicaland to take part in this weekend’s Club Championship tournament.
She said this tournament will also be used by the ZHF as a selection event for the national team players who will take part in a number of regional and international events this year.
“This is, in fact, going to be our season-opener and we are also going to bring in or to use some of our senior referees to handle matches at this tournament so that we will have everything flowing smoothly.
“We have also invited our men’s and women’s national teams’ coaches to attend this event which they will use as a selection event for players who will represent Zimbabwe at regional and international tournaments this year,” Bushe said.
Farayi Gwisayi, Alan Mandeya and Sipho Mahlangu are the men’s national team coaches and they are expected to be in Gweru to watch the Club Championship tournament this weekend together with the women’s national team coaches Cleopatra Mareverwa, Clement Tauro and Tawanda Mapira.
Meanwhile, Amon Madzvamuse, the ZHF president, said the staging of this weekend’s Club Championship tournament in Gweru is part of their efforts to revive handball at club level in this country.
“As you know we are going to appoint an interim executive committee that will run our Premier Handball League which we are going to launch soon after this weekend’s tournament in Gweru. This will see handball being played at club level across the country for the first time in this country and we are more than determined to see this project getting off the ground as soon as possible and I’m quite sure it (the PHL) will be a great success because all the major stakeholders of this sport in this country want to see this happening.
I know there are a number of people who were making a lot of noise, especially through Facebook, accusing us of putting more effort into our junior development programme at the expense of senior club handball in this country but I think now is the time to silence those critics.
“We are going to form the PHL after this weekend’s tournament in Gweru and we want all those people who are interested in the development of handball in Zimbabwe to come on board and contribute to the well-being of this league . . . They must stop being armchair critics,” Madzvamuse said.
Online Reporter