Zim Handball teams for SA

Madzvamuse, the ZHF president, yesterday said Zimbabwe will be represented by a men and women’s Under-20 team at this tournament that is scheduled to run from March 31 to April 7 in Johannesburg.
Six countries – Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the hosts South Africa – will take part at this tournament, which will be bankrolled by the world handball governing body, the International Handball Federation.
The ZHF have already named a 50-member squad of 25 boys and an equal number of girls that will later be trimmed to 20 boys and 20 girls before the team’s departure for Johannesburg on March 30.
Madzvamuse said the ZHF have already stepped up their preparations for this tournament and have named prominent Bindura-based businessman Kudakwashe Kanengoni as the team manager responsible for the players’ welfare. As ZHF, this time around we’ve moved away from getting team managers from people from the handball family or fraternity to people from the corporate world. “This is all part of our continued efforts to spruce up our image and become a professionally-run federation that will engage all the key stakeholders in the running of handball in this country.
“And as the team manager, Kuda Kanengoni will be solely responsible for the players welfare and the reason for his appointment to this post is that we want to see that the team camping and everything regarding our preparations for this tournament is above board,” Madzvamuse said.
Kanengoni said he felt humbled and honoured by being named as the team manager of both the Zimbabwe men and women’s Under-20 teams for the Johannesburg tournament.
“I’m grateful and feel honoured to be bestowed with such an honour by the Zimbabwe Handball Federation and I promise to provide a very excellent performance and service during the time I’ll be working with them.”
This is also the first time that the bubbly 35-year-old Bindura businessman will be involved in the administration of handball at international level.
“I’ve got a passion for sport and I’ve always followed a number of sporting disciplines, handball included, and this has also seen me being appointed as the patron of sport at Bradley High School in Bindura,” said Kanengoni, who also runs a transport company, Kantrans, from his base in Bindura.
As the team manager responsible for the players’ welfare, Kanengoni will be working with Allen Mandeya and Abel Tawanda Mapira who will coach the men and women’s teams during the IHF Challenge Trophy in Johannesburg. ZHF president Madzvamuse said they have appointed Mandeya from the Manicaland Province as the head coach of the boys Under-20 team and he will be assisted by Midlands Province’s Farayi Gwisai. The girls Under-20 team will be under the guidance of Mapira from Chipadze High School in Mashonaland Central and he will have Clemence Tauro as his assistant coach.
Tauro is from Mwanza High School in Mashonaland East. Madzvamuse said the criteria used in choosing these coaches for national duty was based on their performances during the last National Youth Games in Gwanda last year.
“The criteria we used in picking these coaches was that we first looked at their credibility in terms of their (general) behaviour and how they performed during the last National Youth Games.
“We took or picked the coaches who won gold medals for their respective Provinces in the boys and girls competitions to reward them for their outstanding achievements at these National Youth Games.
“The selection was also done by the Hantec handball technical committee, which is an arm of the ZHF composed of coaches and referees,” Madzvamuse said.
Simbiso Mupepereki heads the Hantec handball technical committee. ZHF boss also said that they have appointed Beaulah Mutsambirwa of Girls High School in Harare as the head of delegation of the girls Under-20 team for the Johannesburg trip.