Bulawayo in bid to bring back handball glory

Nkosilathi Sibanda, [email protected]

IN their planned resolutions for the coming year, the Bulawayo Handball Board will intensify their outreach programmes in a bid to help revive the city as the home of handball.

Having as many teams in the local league was going to be the cog in fighting for being the national handball powerhouse, according to the board chairperson Taurai Ngwenya.

He told Zimpapers Sports Hub of their intention to “do things differently” in 2024, saying it was high time teams in Bulawayo take their place as the best countrywide.

“We have to do things differently this time around. Our first point of action is growing the number of teams we have now. We want to also show high levels of organisation in every event that we host as the Bulawayo Handball Board,” said Ngwenya.

His clarion call was to make Bulawayo a handball powerhouse. He said the recent triumph of city teams Ajax and Bulawayo Polytechnic at the Zimbabwe Handball Federation club championships was full proof of how determined they were in reviving the game.

“As a board, we have seen it prudent to see handball in the city reclaim the glory of Bulawayo. We have already set the ball rolling by winning the Zimbabwe Handball Federation National Club Championships by Ajax handball club and Bulawayo Polytechnic in the just ended handball season.

“Both teams represented Zimbabwe in the Zone VI Super Cup Club Championships. In the competition, Ajax handball club men’s team emerged the winners of the region’s Super Cup while Bulawayo Polytechnic were number four in the women’s category. So we are planning to continue with the same spirit right into 2024,” he said.

As a show of trust in their organisation’s confidence to host big events, the Bulawayo Handball Board will for the second time take charge of the National Clubs Championships.

The city played host to the inaugural tournament at United College of Education (UCE) last month.

“The year 2024 will also see the province hosting yet another big event, which is the inter-provincial tournament. Our aim is to win in both the men and women categories,” said Ngwenya.