ZHF ready for Italy

Collin Matiza Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE will, for the first time, take part in the Interamnia World Cup after the Zimbabwe Handball Federation yesterday indicated that they have formally accepted an invitation to take part in this major international event in Teramo, Italy, next year. Like the Partille Cup, which is staged annually in Gothenburg, Sweden, the Interamnia World Cup is also rated as one of the biggest handball tournaments in the world and it also attracts top handball players from all over the world.

In fact, the Interamnia World Cup is considered as the handball Olympics. It is the largest international handball competition in the world and it is contested by senior men and women’s national teams from all over the world.

What makes the Interamnia World Cup a unique event is its strong social connotation, therefore making it a “small Olympics of handball”, as it was renamed a few years back. Sport events are without any doubt pivotal in the world to create connections in favour of peace and fraternity among peoples.

One of the most important merits of the tournament is that it has always welcomed everyone without prejudice towards race, sex, religion and political beliefs.

The Interamnia World Cup takes place every year during the first week of July in Teramo, Italy, and it was played for the 41st time in July this year but Zimbabwe were not represented at this event as the ZHF had other commitments in Sweden where they were looking after three representative sides that were taking part in the Partille Cup which was being staged at the same time in the Swedish city of Gothenburg.

But Zimbabwe are likely to feature at next year’s Interamnia World Cup in Italy for the first time after the ZHF recently received an official invitation top take part in this event from the president of the Interamnia World Cup, Pier Luigi Montauti of Italy.

The ZHF president, Amon Madzvamuse, said yesterday that they have given their thumbs up for the country to take part in the 42nd edition of the Interamnia World Cup which will be held from July 6 to 11 next year.

Zimbabwe are likely to be joined in Italy by fellow African countries Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Djibouti, Guinea, Kenya, Lybia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Reunion, Senegal and Tunisia who have all been represented at Interamnia World Cup before. Madzvamuse said they have resolved to send about four teams that would have excelled at next month’s Umlazi Invitational tournament in Durban, South Africa, to next year’s Interamnia World Cup in Italy.

The Umlazi Invitational tournament is scheduled to be held from December 6 to 11 in Durban and the ZHF have already selected 11 clubs for this annual event.

Bulawayo Select, JZ Handball Club (both from Bulawayo Province), Danhamombe, Rufaro, Mukaro, Serima (all from Masvingo Province), Mutare’s St. Columbus and Kutama Handball Club from Mashonaland West Province were selected by the ZHF to play at next month’s Umlazi Invitational tournament together with three sides from Harare and Chitungwiza – Zengeza 4, Dzivaresekwa and Churchill Boys High School’s Bulldogs.

“All these clubs have confirmed their participation at the Umlazi Invitational tournament in Durban next month and preparations are at an advanced stage . . . They are all scheduled to leave for Durban on December 5.

“And the four teams that will excel at this competition in Durban will automatically get a ticket to go to Italy to represent Zimbabwe at next year’s Interamnia World Cup.

“I think this is quite a good incentive for these teams to do well at the Umlazi Invitational tournament,” Madzvamuse said.
Last year in December, the ZHF sent a strong team of 80 junior players to Durban for the Umlazi Invitational tournament and they were drawn from six schools — Harare’s Girls High School, Pinewood, Churchill Boys High, Howard High, Kwekwe High and JZ Moyo High.

Meanwhile, Madzvamuse said they will spread their junior development programme to Mashonaland Central on Friday where they will donate a handball kit and equipment to Chiimbira Primary School at Madziwa in the Shamva District.

“At Chiimbira Primary School, they have an Early Childhood Learning programme for children under the age of seven and we are going to donate some handball goalposts, a playing kit and some balls to the school from ‘the Presidential Fund’ to the school.

“We are also going to attach a coach to this school as we aim to pick these kids when they are still young and introduce them to the sport as part of our junior development programme. We are taking a leaf from the Partille Cup in Sweden where we saw some six-year-olds taking part in this big junior handball tournament in July this year.

“So, when people see us going out there to take part in major international tournaments such as the Partille Cup, we don’t go there for a holiday or as tourists but we go there to learn for the benefit of our development programmes.

“We are taking this initiative seriously because this is what we call developing the sport at grassroots level,” Madzvamuse said.