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The Art of Sport
Arthur Choga
THE concept of a sports club, back in the day, was a place where people of similar interests could get together and play their favourite sport, followed by drinks at the bar.
A membership model ensured that the clubs were able to cover their running costs, while the use of their facilities came at a fee.
At any given moment, there would be some activity going on, even now.
Golfers pay green fees to get on the course. Non-members make a payment to enter the bar, or are signed in by a member.
Rugby matches attract sizeable crowds, with the club controlling the gates, the bar and the food stalls.
The first consideration that went into the establishment of a sports club was to secure a sizeable piece of land on which to build their base. The presence of large tracts of fields in the middle of or very close to the central business district speaks to the success of the model adopted by the clubs.
Last week, we looked at the need for a geographical spread of match-fit stadiums. The onus lies with local authorities to make this happen. This week, I will talk about the local authorities again, because I believe many of them are staring a cash cow in the face and not doing anything about it.
The late music legend Zexie Manatsa held his wedding at Rufaro Stadium, and filled the venue. Interestingly, people paid to get into the venue.
When Bob Marley came to Zimbabwe for the independence celebrations in 1980, it was to Rufaro Stadium that he trekked and proceeded to put on a memorable show.
When Paul Simon was on his Graceland tour, it was to Rufaro Stadium that he took his gigs with a star-studded team from South Africa that included Ray Phiri of Stimela, Bakhithi Kumalo and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
The walls of Rufaro are loaded with history.
It is hard, though, to imagine that Rufaro would be the first venue to pop up in the mind of, for example, Winky D or Jah Prayzah if they wanted to host a major live event.
I appreciate times have changed, but some deliberate efforts to retain the venue in the minds of people for its place in the cultural history of the nation would help
The opportunity that lies with the land that grounds occupy is immense.
Just about every local authority in the country has land set aside for a stadium and many have taken the time to construct a structure that they call a stadium. That is great foresight.
Many authorities had several of these spaces. Some still have them, if they have not fallen into the hands of land barons
Imagine the possibility of Marondera Municipality, Zvimba Rural District Council or the local authority in Shangani making a deliberate effort to get the stadium in their jurisdiction up to Premier Soccer League (PSL) standard.
Suppose they take the time to build facilities outside the stadium that allow for easy and stress-free catering and drinks management.
Picture the environs of the stadium spruced up to create ample parking space and sufficient resting and relaxation areas.
Once armed with this prime piece of sporting real estate, the local authority could then engage the leading football clubs. Most of them do not own grounds, so this is a fertile area for partnerships.
Having worked in football, it has always been the clubs that go and ask about the stadiums and not the other way around.
The local authority enters into a mutually beneficial partnership with the club and they both set about promoting the new venue as an ideal weekend getaway, crowned with a football match.
Football fans follow their teams across the country.
Would they not be interested in a regular excursion 80 kilometres or 100km away to watch their favourite team and get to enjoy a day out?
With the right kind of ground in place, the local authority can even confidently approach the Zimbabwe Football Association and offer to host friendly matches, or junior national team matches.
I have deliberately targeted football because most of the grounds are configured for football (and athletics), as they have a central pitch with a track around it, so there is less to do to bring it up to standard.
The local tourism potential of this approach is quite exciting. The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, the Sports and Recreation Commission and the association that brings together councils need to have a talk about how to bring sport into the centre of the local authority business model.
Somehow, many of our communities have the notion that the stadium was only to be used for football, and once the game was played on Saturday or Sunday, we had to wait for another week before the ground saw active use again.
I also suspect that, because stadiums tend to fall under the Department of Housing and Community Services in most local authorities, they are seen as a form of welfare facility and are treated as such.
How about approaching schools and other institutions in the local area and offering them such a venue for their games at a nominal fee?
Many of the new suburbs being created do not have sports club space. There are schools. There are always churches. However, there are no sports facilities.
The Ruwa residential community has grown very fast and very wide in the last few years. I am sure there are enough fans of local teams to make the local ground a regular space of activity.
The level of care and attention placed on the grounds and facilities of most sports clubs should provoke and inspire our local authorities. There are many private homes with lawns the size of a regular football field, so there is ample capacity within the local communities for the maintenance of the centrepiece turf.
This would be a case of sport as a business; no longer as a community service. How about that?
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