Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze-Zimpapers Sports Hub
HAD it not been for netball, Kelly Muyambo would perhaps have already been married off somewhere in Checheche.
At just 23 years old, the netball star counts herself lucky to be chasing her dreams when most of her age-mates are already housewives.
For years, she watched her family wallow in abject poverty in Ziyamuchiya village, Checheche.
She knew that being married off was imminent.
Traditionally, some families in this and other villages would marry off young girls to wealthier families.
However, the gods smiled on her.
Sibonginkosi Dube, the GreenFuel netball coach, came into her life at the right time and offered her a chance to play for the club.
“Some of my mates are now mothers of two or three — all stuck in the village without a platform to create a better future for themselves and their children,” she says.
“Had it not been for netball, I would have been in the same predicament, too.”
All of this always replays in her mind whenever she dons the Gems or Makate bib and steps onto the netball court.
Muyambo burst onto the Premier Netball League (PNL) scene in 2021 and has already become one of the trusted players in the national team.
The shy defender lost her father in 2020.
Thereafter, life took a turn for the worse for the family as they would struggle to put a decent meal on the table.
It is only after Muyambo became part of the “Girls Dze Nharo”, as the GreenFuel netball team is affectionately called, that she was able to rescue her family from poverty.
But where did it really start?
Her netball journey started in 2013, during her days at Ziyamuchiya Primary School, when her class teacher forced her to take up the sport because of her height.
Although she became a vital cog of the school team, she simply did not have passion for the sport.
When she enrolled at Rimbi Secondary School, she thought it was the perfect time to abandon netball.
However, her new class teacher had already spotted her during primary school days, forcing her to take up the sport again.
“I had to play but my heart was not entirely into it. Surprisingly, in no time, I became a regular in the first seven of the school team,” she says.
After managing only three Ordinary Level passes, Muyambo found herself playing netball as a pastime while she tried to work on her next move.
The court became her place of solace.
Just after completing her O-Level, she joined Ratings, a Checheche-based Division One club.
“While I was there, GreenFuel conducted trials for their top-flight team and I decided to try it out just for fun,” she said.
“Not that I was confident of my play, but that my teammates were also going for trials and I did not want to be left out.”
Much to her surprise, she made the cut ahead of her colleagues, earning a move that would permanently rewrite her family’s story.
Now playing netball for a living, the idea of earning a salary thrilled her, sparking a bit of passion in Muyambo.
However, despite the new-found passion, she found it difficult to fit into her new “home”.
Her mind would constantly drift back to Checheche.
“My first days were tough, even in training. I used to judge myself on the basis of where I come from, so I felt out of place,” she recalls.
“When I started playing netball, I was a shooter, and at GreenFuel, I was turned into a defender. To my surprise, the transition was easy.
“Although I did not have faith in myself, I would be surprised after the game as fans showered me with praises. This motivated me to work even harder.
“It is then that I became the breadwinner. Now I pay school fees for my two siblings and provide for my mother, so netball is more than just a game for me.”
Muyambo made her debut for the Gems in 2023, at the African Championships in Botswana, where they won bronze, behind winners Zambia and Namibia.
That same year, she was crowned the PNL Players’ Player of the Year.
Local clubs scrambled for her signature before she eventually signed for PNL newbies Makate at the start of the year.
The rising star said she has no intentions of abandoning netball, a sport that gave her a life.
“Netball transformed my life. I am still work in progress and my aim is to make it beyond Zimbabwe. The help I get from my coaches is immense. Now that things look better, I don’t want to disappoint them,” she says.
Muyambo reckons that featuring for the Gems was a dream come true.
She is now working to make it to the 2027 Netball World Cup.
“Whenever I step onto the court, my mom comes to mind,” she explains, fighting back tears.
“I don’t want her to be stressed or to miss our late father, so I told myself that I need to work hard and take good care of her. I also appreciate coach Bongi. I always dedicate my medals to her; she rescued my family.”
