Online Reporter
LAST Friday, the Zimbabwean sporting family gathered once again for what has become the highest national platform for recognising sporting excellence — the 2025 Annual National Sports Awards (ANSA).
Held under the theme “Upholding the Gold Standard,” ANSA once again proved to be a national statement and a declaration that Zimbabwean sport matters.
That excellence deserves recognition. And that those, who carry the hopes, dreams, and flag of this nation onto local, regional, continental, and global stages deserve to be celebrated.
For one evening, the spotlight shifted fully onto the men and women whose commitment, sacrifice, discipline and resilience continue to inspire Zimbabwe.
And fittingly, the evening’s highest honours reflected both established excellence and a promise of the future.
Cricket star Sikandar Raza emerged as the Sportsperson of the Year and the Sportsman of the Year, further cementing his place among Zimbabwe’s elite sporting ambassadors after another remarkable period representing the country with distinction on the international stage.
Meanwhile, rising tennis talent Ruvarashe Makunike at the age of 13, claimed the Junior Sportsperson of the Year Award, symbolising the exciting future that continues to emerge within Zimbabwean sport.
Yet perhaps the most important thing about ANSA is that long before the winners were announced, every nominee had already won. To be nominated at the highest sporting awards platform in the country is itself a significant achievement.
It is recognition by peers, administrators, federations and the broader sporting ecosystem that one’s contribution has risen above the ordinary. It signifies excellence, affirms consistency and acknowledges sacrifice.
Winning may ultimately become the icing on the cake but nomination alone places an athlete, coach, technical official, administrator, journalist, or institution among the very best that Zimbabwe would have produced within the review period — and that recognition matters.
Sport is often measured through medals, scorelines and podium finishes but behind every achievement lies years of unseen hard work. Early morning training sessions, injuries, financial struggles, long journeys, moments of doubt and personal sacrifice.
For many Zimbabwean athletes and sporting institutions, the road to excellence has rarely been easy.
And yet they keep rising and marching on, continue to train, compete and more importantly to raise the Zimbabwean flag with pride. ANSA therefore became more than recognition, it became affirmation.
It told athletes that the nation notices, it told administrators and coaches that their labour matters, reminded technical officials, journalists, development agencies and corporate partners that they too are part of the machinery that keeps Zimbabwean sport alive and moving forward.
This was particularly important in a sporting environment where many disciplines continue to operate under difficult circumstances, relying heavily on passion, volunteerism, and institutional resilience.
Behind every successful athlete is usually an entire ecosystem working quietly in the background. National Sporting Associations (NSAs) continue to play a critical role in ensuring that sport remains active, organised, and competitive across the country.
Their contribution often receives little public attention, yet they remain the backbone of Zimbabwean sport development.
Week after week, season after season, administrators, coaches, volunteers, and technical personnel continue to organise competitions, identify talent, maintain structures, and create opportunities for participation.
Their work ensures that Zimbabwe remains visible in international sporting conversations.
Whether it is athletics, football, swimming, boxing, cricket, rugby, netball, strength sports, basketball, martial arts, paralympic sport, or any of the many sporting disciplines represented last week, Zimbabwe continues to produce athletes capable of competing with distinction on the African continent and beyond. That does not happen by accident. It happens because people continue to believe in Zimbabwean sport.
One of the most encouraging aspects of this year’s ANSA was the level of public participation witnessed through the People’s Choice Award. More than 15 000 votes were cast by members of the public, underlining the growing national interest and emotional investment in Zimbabwean sport. Martial arts veteran Wilfred Mashaya, the Zim Ninja, emerged the winner of the award, reflecting both his popularity and the strong connection between athletes and the communities that support them.
That public engagement matters. It demonstrates that Zimbabwean sport is not only alive within stadiums and arenas but also within homes, communities, schools, workplaces, and across digital platforms where citizens continue to rally behind their sporting heroes.
ANSA also reminded the nation that sport is not just recreation or entertainment. Sport is national identity. It is diplomacy, it is youth empowerment, health, economic opportunity and social cohesion culminating in national pride. When Zimbabwean athletes succeed internationally, they carry more than personal ambition.
They carry the image and aspirations of an entire nation. This is why platforms such as ANSA remain critically important to the national sporting ecosystem. Recognition inspires excellence and that excellence raises standards. Higher standards in turn produce stronger athletes and institutions, which ultimately strengthen the nation itself.
The return and continued growth of ANSA therefore represents something bigger than just a routine annual ceremony.
It reflects a country reaffirming the value of sport and recommitting itself to supporting excellence. Credit must go to the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) for continuing to sustain and evolve this platform, as well as to Government, sponsors, partners, sporting associations, the media, and all stakeholders whose support keeps such kind of vision alive.
ANSA’s organisers deserve a pat on the back for its inclusive structure, where it recognises athletes with disabilities, juniors, coaches, administrators, technical officials, media practitioners, institutions, and development agencies, reflecting a growing understanding that sporting success is collective.
Champions do not emerge in isolation. They emerge from systems, communities, structures, encouragement and opportunity.
As the sporting fraternity gathered last week under the banner of “Upholding the Gold Standard,” perhaps the greatest message of all was that Zimbabwean sport continues to endure, evolve, and aspire.
And for every nominee who walked into that room, there was already something deeply significant attached to their name – recognition.
Recognition that they mattered, that they inspired and that they represented Zimbabwe with distinction, which is often the beginning of greatness.
