Sport runs in her blood

However, a few women across the globe have successfully made their mark on the industry, and the Zimbabwean equivalent of these determined women is sports administrator Mrs Eugenia Chidhakwa.
Eugenia believes that sports administration does not have to be a male-dominated field any longer but that it should be handled professionally just like any other sectors of the economy.
“People have to change their mindsets and view sport as a business and not a social entity only,” she said.
The sport enthusiast is currently the director of the Zimbabwe Olympic Academy, which falls under the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, and is also a board member of the Sport and Recreation Commission, which is the highest sporting body in Zimbabwe.
Within the board she chairs the Sport Development Committee and is currently the president of the Supreme Council of Sport in Africa Zone Six, which is the Sadc Women and Sports Commission.
“I also sit in the sport development and technical commission of the zone,” she said.
The mother of three believes that “moving into prime roles isn’t about who you know – it has also become about what you know”.
And this was the driving force behind her becoming the first and only woman to attain an Executive Master’s degree in sports organisation management in 2009 at the University of Porteir in France.
Eugenia was born in Bulawayo on May 27 1966 in a family of five and believes that sporting people need administrators who approach sport in a business manner since it has become one of the biggest sectors in the economy.
“I believe most sporting organisations in Zimbabwe are engaging administrators who are responsible for handling various components of the organisations,” she said.
She added that it is the primary duty for administrators to promote their members’ and clients’ careers by finding the best openings for their professional development.
This could include transferring to a different team or to another position in a team or finding financial opportunities for them through product endorsements and investments.
Mrs Chidhakwa, whose maiden name is Kunonga, is sister to jazz musician Victor Kunonga.
“I also have a passion for music and my favourite musician is my brother, Victor Kunonga,” she said.
However, she quickly pointed out that for her sport comes first. In her spare time she also enjoys being with her family.
She is married to Ephraim, who is a banker.
“My family is very supportive. I am where I am because of my husband. He is very financially and morally supportive,” Eugenia said.
She took a liking for sport during her primary education in Gweru at St Paul’s Primary School.
During her secondary education at Chaplin High School, Eugenia went on to venture in various sporting activities, among them hockey, basketball and volleyball.
“Sport is in me . . . It is intrinsic,” she said.
She draws inspiration from one Andi Seger, a consultant at Alden & Associates, a national executive recruiting firm that specialises in sports administration. Seger is emeritus director of athletics at Ball State University, where she served for 27 years, including 12 as senior woman administrator.
In the region, Dorcas Malesu of Botswana also inspires Eugenia. She took over from her as president in the zone.
In the local arena Eugenia draws inspiration from the president of the Netball Association of Zimbabwe whom she only referred to as Mrs Chipandu.
Eugenia trained as a primary school teacher at Mkoba College where she majored in physical education in sport.
One particular event she is proud of is when one of her mentally-challenged students at Mudavanhu Zimcare Trust was chosen to represent Zimbabwe at a Special Olympics international tournament in 1994.
Eugenia also did well in mentoring and teaching athletics and traditional dance at Seke 12 Primary School and Ndangariro Primary School in Chitungwiza in 1995 and 1999 respectively.
She is a lecturer at Bondolfi Teachers’ College and at Morgan Zintec College in the Physical Education and Sports department.
“We did very well in soccer, volleyball and basketball at Morgan Zintec College where I am now a principal lecturer in the Physical Education and Sports department. I am also director of the sports department,
“I have also been Zimbabwe Tertiary Sports Union president. The union encompasses teachers’ colleges, technical colleges and universities,” she said.
She is also the president of Women in Sport Foundation in Zimbabwe.
She said that ZTSU gets a lot of sponsorship from the corporate world and as Women in Sport Foundation in Zimbabwe they have carried out programmes to empower women in the sporting economy.
Eugenia is a Catholic and says she respects all Christians saying she is comfortable going to any church as long as people are preaching the word of God.
Eugenia emphasised that women need work experience and strategic networking to advance in sports administration.
“Sports administrators and managers have to be knowledgeable in contractual law, business and finance analysis, as well as management of sports. It will take a lot of hard work and patience for women to succeed in this highly competitive industry,” she said.
She has a wonderful talent for administering sporting organisations as well as helping other sports enthusiasts realise their dreams.
Her advice to women: “If you think you are too small to be effective then you have never been in bed with a mosquito. Put the best of whatever you have got so that we can build a better society.”
She added that women should rise to the occasion and take advantage of the various courses and programmes at their disposal.
“Advanced sports management courses were introduced to empower people in national sports associations to administer sports in a business way.
“As I chair the sport development committees we are not looking at how the sports people develop particularly in sports but we are also looking at how the association is developing into a business entity,” she said.
Eugenia studied for her first BSc degree in Physical Education and Sport with the Zimbabwe Open University.
Like many, the road to success has never been easy for her as she met a lot of challenges along the way. I have met a lot of challenges along the way, one of them being stigmatisation where as a woman people felt that I could not administer as good as men.
“At times I also met resistance from some of the women themselves thereby most of the challenges I meet are cultural because people perceive women who are into sport as women with loose morals,” said Eugenia.
“I aspire to see sport having a stand- alone ministry and to see national sports associations managing their sporting activities in a business way and the corporate world helping a lot in the sporting activities in Zimbabwe,” she said.
She said people should not perceive sport personalities as failures in society but as people who are in business.
In her words, Eugenia believes that she has not reached her “full potential in sports administration” and that she will leave a legacy were women will be better administrators and also acquire positions of influence in sports.