Chronicle Editor
Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
OVER the past couple of years Zimbabwe has witnessed a rise of followership and participation in “minority” sports.
Traditionally football has been the most followed and loved sport in the country with fans and players in all corners of the country while other sports have been seen as a reserve for “a certain” group of people.
However, of late, football has been recording low numbers in fan attendance at stadiums which speaks, maybe, to the growth of other codes. Lower numbers affected even the biggest match in the country between giants Highlanders and Dynamos much to the disappointment of the Bosso gaffer, Baltemar Brito.
When he stepped into the National Sports Stadium in November last year, the Highlanders coach expected to be greeted by a sea of fans clad in the blue of Dynamos and the black and white of Highlanders, but to his disappointment, he found the biggest football stadium in Zimbabwe almost empty.
Though Highlanders did their best to paint Harare black and white, the collective number of fans in attendance was not impressive. The match between the two giants also failed to live up to expectation.
With Zimbabwe banned by Fifa from taking part in international football, minority sports are becoming more popular around the country, hosting and taking part in international tournaments. Some of the sports that have been enjoying a rise in followership and participation include cricket, golf, squash and tennis.
Hosting and taking part in international games has made the “minority” sports gain attention in the country. Last year, the Africa senior squash championships were held in Bulawayo and saw venues such as Christian Brothers College (CBC) and Suburbs Squash Club have full houses in spectators, both players and random fans.
Hockey has also been gaining traction over the years with the country’s under-21 sides, both men and women, having qualified for next month’s Africa Junior Championship which is a pathway to the Junior World Cup.
A staggering 200 people registered to take part and play in the first edition of this year’s Mutupo-Isibongo Golf Tournament that takes places at Royal Harare Golf Club. Zimbabwean golf growth also charmed R and A Golf development officer Eden Thompson on his first official visit.
The R and A is the world governing body of golf apart from the Americas. Swimming Zimbabwe has also seen quite a number of athletes going out to represent the country in international stages.
Over the years cricket matches have enjoyed huge attendance which speaks to the rising popularity of the game. Netherlands captain Scott Edwards likened the cricket support in Zimbabwe to England’s Barmy Army.
Introduction of sports such as squash, cricket, tennis and golf to schools has been pivotal in drawing large numbers. For a sport to be popular, it has to start from the bottom going up so that people get to understand how it goes.
Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA) president Martin Chikwana believes the rise in popularity of other sports can be attributed to society learning to appreciate them.
“As Zimbabwe Golf Association (ZGA) what we have now tried to do is to take the sport out of a golf club and bring it to the doorstep of our schools and communities so that they can have an appreciation or realisation that after all they can play this sport and as soon as you start playing you then move on to the next step where you realise that it’s a sport that you can enjoy.
It’s a sport that’s full of fun, a sport that can have many economic and physical advantages. In view of that you will realise that the more people are gaining that appreciation, the more they realise the advantages that come with playing a certain sport and the more we are having people coming in to take part and enjoy the sport.
“If I look at it from that perspective then you’d realise that the number of spectators that, for example, we have on the biggest tournament in the country, the Zimbabwe Open, we had more fans coming through to watch and it is as a result of more appreciation, there are more people who understand and are playing the sport they then realise that they can actually go out and have fun and follow and watch and appreciate those that are better than others,” said Chikwana.
Chikwana also believes that as associations they have to take the mystery out of the sports because once that has been done there will be youngsters appreciating that “this is a sport just like any other sport, just like football or netball which you can actually enjoy.”
To gain more people, Chikwana believes that as sports administrators they have to create clear trails for youngsters so that they know that they have a clear pathway that leads to a certain place and also know of the benefits.
“Ultimately what then has to happen is that as associations we need to create clear pathways that enable the younger generation to realise that should they be interested in taking part in this kind of sport, we go from A to B to C to D and lead to a certain place and know the benefits. That is a very big part we can create for those that are interested to take the sport up,” he said.
People have been becoming more knowledgeable about these “minority” sports hence the rise in player numbers and followership and unlike the traditional popular sports, the “minority” have been representing Zimbabwe more on the international stage. -@brandon_malvin
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