Chronicle Editor
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
IMVELO Safari Lodges have been forced to put on hold their ambitious plan of constructing a state-of-the-art sports facility in Tsholotsho that will be used by local and international football clubs.
Imvelo Safari Lodges have been sponsoring Ngamo Lions Academy, a football club that was established in 2017 and is based in Ward 3 Tsholotsho North.
Vusumuzi Ncube, spokesperson for Imvelo Safari Lodges, said they have engaged international partners to assist them in developing a sports centre that will have two fields, camping houses, fully equipped gym and standard size swimming pool.
He said when completed, the facility will also have top class camping houses that will cater for visiting teams.
“After realising that local villages had abundant talent that was not being tapped because of lack of exposure and resources, we set up Ngamo Lions Academy.
“Football stars, who include Mkhokheli Dube, Kelvin Madzongwe and Makhosi Ncube, are among the people that helped us in setting up the academy.
“The football team was part of Imvelo Safari Lodges’ corporate social responsibility initiatives, and because we are in the tourism industry, we saw it fit to expand and have a facility that will promote sports tourism,” said Ncube.
“We are near the Hwange National Park and there are lots of animals around Ngamo and we believe the sports facility will afford teams a place to relax by going for game drives in between training. Land for development of this facility has been identified.
“The Covid-19 pandemic really affected us, meaning we have to reschedule everything. The timelines in terms of completion of the facility will depend on sponsorship.
“We have partners in Europe and USA who have been marketing the project, but because of Covid-19, most tourists haven’t been coming to Zimbabwe which is affecting everything,” he said.
He said his company will continue to cultivate relations with international partners to realise their dream.
He also revealed that former English Premiership champions Leicester City donated training equipment to the academy. — @ZililoR
Online Reporter