Story by Lawrence Trusida, Sports Editor
Government is on course to setting up a sports fund to support Zimbabwean athletes at international competitions.
Zimbabwean athletes have in some cases struggled to fulfill international commitments due to lack of funding.
In most cases, they have been restricted to just attending regional events which sometimes do not offer the best competition.
This is, however, set to change with government working on creating a sports fund to support athletes on international assignments.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Nicholas Moyo said, “We need to create a sustainable sports fund for mobility purposes. Our athletes need to be exposed to international competitions from young ones to the most senior athletes. They should be able to attend, meet, and compete with the best and prepare for major tournaments. So that one area we are working on this year is a sustainable sports fund to support athletes all year round and in their development processes.”
Government in partnership with National Sport Associations is also embarking on an extensive talent identification programme.
“We have what it takes to compete at the highest level, all we need to do is to spread our wings through talent identification and supporting our NSAs through government. We have a few athletes doing well for example in swimming or tennis for example when we went to Ghana (2023 African Games) we had only two athletes competing in the tennis events and they would finish a singles match then run for a doubles match and to expect them to produce the best results will be asking for too much, while other countries had 10 tennis players who were always fresh in different events. So sometimes our results are not a result of talent but lack of support for our athletes, so we need to grow our base,” noted the Permanent Secretary.
Government has already set the tone through funding athletes to participate at the Olympics, Paralympics, African Games, Special Olympics and the Regional Youth Games.
It has also supported national teams such as the Gems, Sables and the Warriors.
