NEW: Covid-19 knocks out two netball clubs

Veronica Gwaze

Two teams – Flow Angels and Mutare Queens – that were part of the 20-team Rainbow Netball Amateur League (RANL) have withdrawn due to financial challenges occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, it has been learnt.

Airforce of Zimbabwe side Falcon Queens will also not be part of the 2021 netball fiesta as they have been dissolved.

Although netball, just like all the other high-risk sports, were given the greenlight to resume, matches are yet to start in RANL.

Games were set to be played under a bio-secure bubble in line with Covid-19 regulations, which come at a cost.

Although RANL sponsors Glow Petroleum sunk in $11 million for the upcoming season, clubs still have to cover the extra costs under the bio-secure bubble concept.

Despite the setback of losing three clubs, Glow Petroleum maintains the league programme would soon resume.

“We are not going to have a 20-team league as usual … When teams were consulted by the executive in line with Government Covid-19 regulations, some raised their hands to say they can do it, while others said they cannot.

“As RANL, we want to respect life first before games, so we would rather have fewer teams playing against the budget that we have and save lives than have casualties,” said Glow Petroleum’s Aaron Chinhara.

“We also do not want to kill the game in regions where there are sponsorship challenges, so we will try to help a few selected teams to ensure that there is evenness in all regions.

“This means that we will try to rescue a team from each region, making sure that the available sponsorship helps them.”

The RANL has not yet been registered as a national elite league by the Zimbabwe Netball Association (ZINA) since 2018.