adminMidlands Correspondent
THE Midlands Netball League could fail to take off for the second year running as the economic challenges take their toll on the province’s clubs.
Clubs have not yet affiliated with the Midlands Netball Association (MNA) six months into the year.
A meeting on the way forward was held on Saturday at the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) where it was agreed that a decision would be made on July 25 when a clubs’ tournament would be held.
MNA chairperson, Mariette Kim said: “We couldn’t kick-start the season because we couldn’t raise the number of teams to undertake such a campaign. The meeting we had on Saturday was to map the way forward with districts and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to have a provincial league this year.
“For instance Mberengwa and Zvishavane districts have their own league which is running while Gokwe South has about six clubs. The other districts also have clubs and I’m confident that we’ll manage to raise at least 12 clubs for the league.”
Most clubs could not last the distance due to financial constraints in the 2013 season prompting the league to suspend the 2014 season.
The situation was further compounded by the promotion of ZRP Midlands and Connemara-based ConGold to the National Netball Super League, reducing the number of clubs with the capacity to fulfil fixtures.
Buchwa Mine, Jena Mine and Mberengwa-based Mnene High School are some of the seasoned campaigners that can still manage to participate in the provincial league.
The three were among the more than 27 clubs that took part in the National Super League promotional play-offs held in February.
Online Reporter