Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Control Board (ZNBWCB) chief executive Lawrence Zimbudzana says setting up a stand at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) has opened their eyes to the huge interest people have in combat sport.
ZNBWCB is exhibiting at the trade expo for the second-year running. Other sport codes that have taken advantage of the fair include table tennis, taekwondo and pool.
“This year’s edition of the ZITF is our second-year exhibiting.
Last year was a learning curve so we have tried to improve working with a number of partners to make sure we are able to deliver quality service to our stakeholders.
This year we are featuring a number of programmes that we have as an organisation.
One of them is capacity development we will be rolling out so that we improve our sector.
We want to get to a stage that when we participate in boxing as a country, we are really competitive,” said Zimbudzana.
He said they were impressed with the number of people visiting their stand and enquiring about the sport.
The key thing they have discovered is that the majority of people want to participate in combat sports for purposes of fitness.
“The interest and enthusiasm have been fantastic for us.
We believe that if we are able to harness those that have visited us here, maybe the level of participation in combat sports is going to increase, which will be largely beneficial for the country.
“Participation is key because if the numbers increase, we can then be able to channel those numbers into professional athletes.
For us to attract sponsors, we need to first create interest in the sport, which is what we are doing,” he said.
– @innocentskizoe
Online Reporter