Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE Netball could be headed for a major turnaround.
This comes after the Zimbabwe Netball Association set their sights on establishing grassroots leagues to create clear pathways for potential talent that is scattered across provinces.
The junior leagues will be built around Under-14 age groups to Under-17s and then the Under-21s.
ZINA technical director John Banda said the leagues are meant to consistently feed into the national development side the Zambezi Eagles and ultimately the Gems.
“We realised that the Zambezi Eagles project is doing well as a feeder into the senior national team, the Gems,” said Banda.
“We can see the results and now it is time to look beyond that.”
Banda said the recent improvement of the Gems on World Netball Rankings, rising from position 13 to 11 was largely necessitated by the creation of a vibrant development side.
“It came to our realisation that Zambezi Eagles also need a consistent feeder, we cannot be relying on trials at that level.
“To achieve this, we had to come up with a concept that will provide us with a clear system where we can track a player’s progress from primary school level upwards.”
Banda said the junior structures will start off as district leagues with a gradual expansion to grow the projects into provincial leagues before making them national leagues.
Further, elite league clubs will be required to have junior teams in their structures.
Banda added that the developmental teams, will often play curtain raiser games at league fixtures: “Once we establish that clear channel where we can track players from primary school to the elite level.
“After that, we will then introduce a regulation which requires each club to have a certain number of developmental players on their registered lists.
“This way, they can have consistent game time on a competitive platform, ensuring growth and development.”
African powerhouses South Africa have robust school netball leagues managed by South African Schools Netball.
SASN structures competition for both primary and secondary schools across all age groups (U10–U19) from April to October, featuring school-level, cluster, and national championships.
As they graduate into senior levels, they then participate in prestigious competitions that include the DStv Schools Netball Challenge and the Telkom Championships.
SASN also host national Fast 5 championships with the leagues serving as the development pipeline for Netball South Africa to identify talent for national under-17 teams.
The league policies allow for participation of all schools including those in rural areas.
Resultantly their national teams have transformed into forces to reckon with globally.
However, with ZINA’s perennial financial constraints difficult to overlook, the association will have to find ways of attracting sponsorship before rolling out such an ambitious project.
Currently Nedbank are bankrolling the Gems, their development side Zambezi Eagles and Premier Netball League.
“Our major concern is on funding because such a huge project needs a stable financial backing and revenue generating streams,” said Banda.
“We want this to be a permanent functional structure and for us to be able to achieve this we need sponsorship.
“The plan is to have district, provincial and national championships under all these age groups but without funding, the long-term goal may be difficult to achieve.”
Banda called for the corporate world to consider investing in netball development.
“We can even have branded leagues like other nations where the title sponsor gets the naming rights,” he said.
“There is massive netball potential in the country and we are keen to tap into that.
“Our intention is to groom a whole player who comes from a proper system, with a traceable record hence the need for proper investment into the project.”
