Chronicle Editor
Shingai Dhlamini, [email protected]
BULAWAYO hosted the second edition of the Footgolf Competition Management and Officiating Course at Milton Junior School at the weekend.
This exciting development followed the foothold officiating course held in Harare last month, where 65 Footgolfers graduated as officials.
Footgolf, a relatively new sport in Zimbabwe, is played on a golf course and combines the rules of football and golf. Players must kick a football into a 54cm diameter hole, following the same rules as golf, making it a thrilling and unique experience for all involved.
The course was open to anyone interested, drawing participants from Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South, Masvingo and Midlands, with a few even coming from outside the southern region of the country.
This opportunity followed several introductory courses held in almost 80 percent of the country’s districts.
Zimbabwe Footgolf Association (ZFGA) president, Daniel Kuwengwa, said the excitement surrounding Footgolf has taken Zimbabweans by storm, and the competition management and officiating course is just the beginning of its growth in the country.
“We had 65 delegates and 90 percent of the participants were teachers who will be tasked to run competitions in schools next year following the adoption of the sport by schools,” said Kuwengwa.
He said some of the facilitators included Isaiah Mpofu, Patience Mataire and Brian Ndlovu, all with global experience in Competition Management and Officiating.
Kuwengwa said that Footgolf has cascaded to all parts of the country and has been contested locally and regionally.
“The sport is growing and is to be a major sport in the country if the current growth rate is anything to go by. Biggy Chadyoka and Enia Madi were among those who won prizes for best female and male Footgolfer in Pretoria, South Africa, in a just-ended tournament,” he said.
Morris Dube, a representative of the National Association of Primary Heads in the Bulawayo Province Footgolf executive, said it was a great initiative by the province to host such an informative event.
“It was good for us as a province to host the event, we were exposed to Footgolf, a hybrid sport, its mission, vision, core values, and programmes. We had hands-on skills training on playing the game, scoring, competition management and course designing,” said Dube.
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