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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
GOVERNMENT through the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation have hailed organisations and individuals who are spearheading sport participation for all age-groups across the country.
While sport is predominantly viewed from a competition perspective, Deputy Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Tino Machakaire said that it is more than just that.
Addressing youths at the Mbare Netball Complex recently, Machakaire said sport should be a language for all for the well-being of the country.
“The problem with all of us here is that we think if we talk of sport, we should be talking about this team beating the other one or this individual outclassing the other.
“For our own well-being especially in an age where we are bedevilled by diseases, that shouldn’t be the case,” he said.
“We are busy trying to fight drug and substance abuse scourge as a country. That means to totally win this war, we need even the 90-year-old granny whose house is being used as a storeroom to come and participate in sport.
“To run away from the Sexually Transmitted Infections, it also means we need to have those sex workers participating in sport. To fight off mental illness, we can also use sport.
“That means we should understand that sport is not just about competition but it’s also about building relationships, fighting diseases and creating the general well-being of the country”.
Machakaire said individuals and corporates involved in sponsoring sport tournaments should also consider the elderly and the disabled in the community.
“We would like to salute all individuals and businesses who are sponsoring sport tournaments here in Mbare. As Government, we value those gestures as you are helping the kids to find their way to the top and also taking them from crime.
“But, I also urge you to consider our elderly and the disabled members of the society. We need to include everyone when it comes to sport.
“For a long time, we have seen the elderly and the disabled being left out of these sports tournaments. Let’s create what they can do and encourage them to take part.
“Let’s make sure that everyone is afforded an opportunity to participate in sport. The results will be magical for the general well-being of our country”.
Machakaire sponsors an annual sports gala in his rural home in Wedza with virtually every sport code available while the elderly tussle in traditional games like nhodo and bottle games.
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