adminSikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
An invitational tournament, named after President Robert Mugabe and featuring eight countries from Africa and Asia has been mooted with consultations already underway.
The Robert Mugabe Invitational Football Tournament will see Harare and Bulawayo football enthusiasts enjoying two weeks of football. It is being organised by the Ministry of Sport and Recreation and that of Tourism and Hospitality Industry.
Sport and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane said: “There’ll be a two-week football extravaganza in the country, running under the Robert Mugabe Invitational Tournament and will feature four countries from Asia and an equal number from Africa,” Minister Hlongwane told delegates, at the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Under-20 Youth Games legacy project meeting at a city hotel last Friday.
Speaking to Chronicle Sport after the meeting, Minister Hlongwane said the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry was contacting the concerned confederations to come up with proper modalities on how the tournament would be run.
“The Tourism Ministry is talking to the relevant confederations that administer football, so I can’t even give you the exact dates when the tournament will be held as well as the identities of the countries that will be invited,” said Minister Hlongwane.
However, African giants Cameroon are believed to have been contacted already and could be one of them.
Meanwhile, Minister Hlongwane said his ministry will hold a Sports Fair at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair next year, in a move he said would help market the country’s sporting industry.
“We’ll have a memorandum of understanding with the ZITF people because they’re the experts in this field. Our clubs are only on radio or television when playing, but the brand is really not coming out, so a sports fair will immensely help,” said Minister Hlongwane.
He said besides local sports clubs, international sports equipment manufacturers would also be invited to showcase their wares.
“Alongside the fair, we’ll have a national sports dialogue where we’ll extensively discuss issues that affect various sports disciplines in the country,” said Minister Hlongwane.
He said experts on sports clubs’ funding will be there to give advice on how to structure models for funding sport.
Online Reporter