Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
MEN’s netball is struggling to take off due to society’s generally held view that it’s a game for females.
There is resistance to men’s netball in a similar manner that women’s football suffered when it was first introduced in the country.
It took more than a decade for women’s football to be embraced, but it still continues to be viewed in lesser light compared to men’s football.
This is evident in general treatment of the women’s game and pay parity at national team level where they’re paid peanuts even when representing their country.
The women’s national teams are treated with contempt, as they are condemned to use substandard facilities for their domestic league games.
The women’s football league does not use the same venues for matches as their male compatriots, hampering the game’s development.
The only time women’s football is played at Barbourfields or the National Sports Stadium is during international tournaments, otherwise they are relegated to the dusty grounds used by lower tier men’s leagues.
And when they use them, they’d evidently be uncomfortable because they will not be used to playing on good surfaces.
However, Leticia Chipandu, the Zimbabwe Netball Association president, feels that men’s netball will have a smooth take off compared to when women’s football was first introduced.
She feels society is already slowly warming up to it.
“I look at the need and passion of an individual and I respect that. Our society is a patriarchal society where netball has always been traditionally a female sport. However, societal values are not static, they are dynamic, so they cut across both genders.
“There have been a lot of changes in sport. If you look at every sporting discipline now, it’s now played by both male and females.
“From what I have seen, I think society has accepted that men can also play netball. I don’t see why Zimbabwe would lag behind when the rest of the world is moving forward. We are working to see that our men’s netball blossoms and from the way I see it, men’s netball is going to grow faster than women’ football,” said Chipandu.
Zina Bulawayo provincial chairperson Joseph Nkomazana said men actually have the potential to excel in netball
more than their female counterparts.
“In our province we have about two male teams. I know one which is registered with the national association and the other one is not registered, but they are preparing to register as well.
“Men’s netball is not so common, but the response from the community has been good. It’s unfortunate people think netball is a women’s only game, but so far, most communities and women are starting to realise that men can play netball as well and maybe do better than them,” said Nkomazana.
Asked about the challenges men might face in netball, he said: “I don’t think there is much of a challenge that men face in netball besides the fact that there are few male teams.
“The concern is on the low level of support from all stakeholders because they don’t believe that men can play netball. I joined netball because I used to go and watch their games when I was free from my football activities.
“That is when I got interested in netball. I also thought that netball needed our support as much as football. My wish is to see netball being funded as much as football because we need to uplift the girl child as well.”
Nkazimulo Nkomo, a schools sports coach in Bulawayo, said there has to be vigorous awareness campaigns for society to accept that men can also play netball.
Online Reporter