adminCaroline Magenga Sports Reporter
THE Premier Handball League fixtures secretary Allan Mandeya says new and innovative marketing strategies are needed to enable the growth of the sport at club level in this country.
Mandeya told The Herald that financial challenges remain a big obstacle and clubs were finding it difficult to fulfil their fixtures in the HPL.
“I think that our biggest challenge is that we are lacking effective marketing of the sport and the league.
“In schools, handball has really taken root, but you will find that at club level it still remains largely a minority sport being hampered from growth by financial problems.
“We have our matches once a month and during that time the teams play two games, each lasting an hour, but due to the fact that some of our clubs are struggling (financially), you will find that some will not afford to bring a full team or will not have uniforms and other relevant equipment.
“A practical example I could give is that of one of our clubs, Hardshorts. They have been in the league for a while and during home games they play very well, but when away they can only manage to send nine or 10 players, whereas they will be up against a rival team comprising 14 players.
“So, it inevitably affects their scoreline no matter how good they are,” Mandeya said.
Mandeya, who is also a seasoned coach, said there was need for strong leadership in the clubs.
“As a way forward, clubs should work hand-in-hand with the ZHF and the league to work out fresh marketing strategies which can attract sponsorship and innovative ideas to source revenue so that the sport can grow, making even the selection base big.
“The media on their part, both electronic and print, have also been neglecting the sport, particularly the league games that hardly, if ever, get any coverage.”
Amon Madzvamuse, the ZHF president, said he wasn’t aware of any difficulties facing the league.
“This league is a new baby which has only been in existence for a few months, so financial problems are bound to be there. It’s nothing new, but no such issues have been brought to my attention.
“The league games are played once a month, which gives clubs ample time to raise the money (that is required to have them fulfil their league fixtures), but when a club playing at Premiership level fails to raise money to send a full team then it’s better they drop out of the league,” he said.
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