admin
Sports Reporter
NORTHERN Region Handball League technical director Jabulani Mafanya says they are looking forward to an exciting season when the season gets underway early next month.
At first, the league games were expected to start this weekend but they are now scheduled to take off the first weekend of July.
“It was supposed to start this weekend. However, we have postponed to next weekend due to the fact that there is an Olympic activity that is happening at Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex… And some handball clubs will be showcasing the sport of handball because it’s an Olympic sport code.
“We decided to use that time to actually facilitate registration for some clubs that had not fully affiliated. So that is the major reason we postponed to next weekend.
“And we are expecting a more exciting season this year, mainly because we have got ambitious clubs that have actually joined the ship like Tigers, who joined the league last season, and there is another one for the ladies called Panthers,” said Mafanya.
The men’s division is expected to feature 12 teams and 10 in the women’s section.
Mafanya said they have some new clubs coming on board for the upcoming season.
“For the men’s teams we are expecting to have 12 teams and for the women side we are expecting to have 10 teams.
“We have Panthers for the ladies and for the men’s side there is one called Matero Magic. These are two clubs that joined us this year.
“Tigers competed last year and the exciting part about Tigers is that they have been on a shopping spree and they bought some players from Manyame and other clubs like Bindura. So they are quite a force to reckon with now,” said Mafanya.
Manyame Falcons and Manyame Sparrows are the defending champions in the men and women’s divisions respectively.
The Northern Region league technical director said it is encouraging to see committed clubs joining the league.
“Our league, I think it has been growing steadily. We now have more teams coming in every season and the good part is that it’s not just any other team coming in, we are having serious teams coming on board.
“However, the only challenge that is left for our league to grow in terms of professional growth is the funding. So if at least we can get more sponsors because as it stands, up to now, we don’t have a sponsor for the league.
“So it’s a huge challenge for us. We have to live on a begging bowel. So maybe if we can get at least a sponsor for the men’s teams, a sponsor for the women teams, maybe we can get somewhere in terms of professionalism because if the league grows it means that our players will be able to grow professionally.
“And that will help the national team ultimately in terms of international competitions because we would have the calibre of players that can perform at the highest level,” said Mafanya.
The league includes clubs from Harare, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland Central. They held their season opener last week.
Online Reporter