The Sunday Mail
Tinashe Kusema
Its been five days since we entered into the new year.
Now seems like a good time to reflect on the last 12 months of Zimbabwean sport.
December 31 signalled not only the end of 2019, but the end of yet another decade in Zimbabwean sport.
We might be a small country geographically, but we are a great one in terms of sports.
This country is home to Moses Chunga, Artwell Mandaza, Honourable Minister Kirsty Coventry, the Black family, Evans Stewart, the gold medal-winning hockey team (1980 Olympic Games) and Marvelous Nakamba.
While Zimbabwe has had great achievements, it has also encountered bad moments as well.
Therefore, in this review we chronicle 2019’s good moments as well as those that could have been better.
The good
While it goes without saying that the Zimbabwe Gems’ debut at the Vitality Netball World Cup in Liverpool, England, remains the major highlight of 2019, let’s start a bit closer to home with Honourable Minister Coventry herself.
During the latter part of the year, the minister read the riot act to the ailing sports association. In no uncertain terms, she announced a policy, or national strategy, aimed at regulating funds disbursed by Government to ensure good corporate governance by all sporting codes in the country. Most importantly, she called for the prioritisation of high performance and grassroots development.
The key components of this national strategy is the first of its kind in Zimbabwe
The national strategy will see tier systems being adopted for all sporting codes. These will determine which events and sports teams receive funding.
One of the successes this strategy is likely to achieve is that it will eradicate the “beggar mentality” that has characterised Zimbabwean sport for decades. It will ensure that the most deserving (those really in need of funding) receive assistance from Government.
This approach will be a departure from the previous system in which football always got the lion’s share at the expense of other sporting activities.
Minister Coventry also welcomed her first child, Baby Ella, into the world. The hope of the nation is that some of her swimming talent will rub onto her child.
The trumps
The Zimbabwe netball national team made the great trek to England, represented the country with distinction and won over the hearts of not only the English natives but the entire world.
It was not only about their performances on the court – where they finished eighth out of a total of 32 nations – but their sheer determination that saw them pulling through shoddy preparations, heart and soul, got them over.
The Zimbabwe Senior Rugby team rose from the ashes and clinched their second Victoria Cup title after a seven-year hiatus.
They tasted defeat only once in six games involving Kenya, Zambia and Uganda.
Shihan Samson Muripo was crowned world champion, yet again, when he won the open category at the sixth Kyokushin Karate World Cup in Moscow, Russia.
“At first I thought I wouldn’t take part because it hurt me so much, but through encouragement from Hanshi Bastiaan Lindert van Stenis and the people who were in constant touch with me, other karatekas, family members and friends, I had to do it for my father.
“Pressure makes diamonds. I fought for him,” he is reported to have said after the tournament.
While it is better to say the least about Zimbabwe’s participation at the Africa Cup of nations, a good thing came out of that disappointing outing in Egypt.
Marvelous Nakamba announced his arrival on the world stage.
His performances caught the eye of suitors from German Bundesliga side Cologne, Italian sides Fiorentina, Atalanta, Torino and Sampdoria.
In the end, the English won and the 25-year-old Zimbabwean midfielder inked a deal with Aston Villa.
To date, he has played 14 matches, endeared himself to the Villa fanbase. Locally, he is nicknamed “The Warriors 2.0”.
The bad
Death hounded Zimbabwean sport. The country lost a track and field icon Artwell Mandaza at age 73.
The “Mhangura Meteor”, as Mandaza was affectionately known, rose to fame in 1970 when he ran a world record-equaling time of 9,9s in the 100 metres at the South African Bantu Championships in Welkom.
Although not recognised, that record was the world’s joint fastest, along that of Cuba’s Pablo Montes.
He was voted the Sportsperson of the Year that very year, becoming the first black person to win the honour. This is the same year he broke the 100m, 200m and 400m records.
After a successful career on the track, Mandaza then worked with a lot of young and accomplished athletes, nurturing and honing their craft, going on to form his own academy to nurture the talents from his home province, Mashonaland Central.
But Mandaza was not the only loss.
Former Zimbabwe Cricket president Peter Chingoka passed away after a short illness in August at the age of 65.
Flame Lily Raphael Kawondera and former Blue Swallows’ Ngoni Murisa also breathed their last during the past year.
Ngonidzashe Murisa, younger brother to former Caps United, Highlanders and Dynamos striker Stewart Murisa, was found dead at his home at Jason Ziyapapa Moyo Air Force Base.
He was 33.
The ugly
For every achievement that range from good to great, there was something ugly to match it.
The Zimbabwe Gems’ feat in England was marred by shoddy preparations, neglect and lack of proper remunerations.
Since the tournament, a couple of high- profile players have left the team in a huff, disgruntled and bitter over the treatment before, during and after the tournament.
n the pitch, the team finished bottom of their group with a single point from a possible nine, and missed out on three possible routes in which they could have qualified for the knockout stages, either as winners, runners-up or best third-placed team.
Each of their games was marred by player strikes over non-payment of dues, the very same stand-offs that resulted in a catastrophic fallout between some players and management.
Among these are the likes of George Chigova, Danny Phiri, Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat.
A few have since returned.
The worst of the worst occurred yet again in football when the senior women’s national team failed to appear at their own home match – where they were meant to host Zambia in a Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualifier at the National Sports Stadium.
Again it was a stand-off over the non-payment of appearance fees, bonuses and neglect of the girl child by the local football mother body.
Trailing 5-0 after a first leg defeat, the Mighty Warriors failed to qualify for this year’s Olympics.
But the football fraternity was not alone in the egg-in-your-face department.
Both the Zimbabwe Rugby Union and Zimbabwe Cricket had an equal share of that.
In the darkest hour of Zimbabwean cricket, the country was suspended by the ICC over “Government interference” after the Sports and Recreation Commission suspended the Zimbabwe Cricket board as well as managing director Givemore Makoni.
Boardroom issues affected the game, with players going for six months without pay.
The suspension also resulted in the senior men and women’s teams missing out on their respective World T20 qualifiers.
In rugby, Zimbabwe’s romance with famed rugby gaffer Peter de Villiers and the ZRU came to an abrupt and tragic end.
The former Springbok coach was dismissed for missing work while attending to his cancer-stricken daughter, with the 62-year-old making counter-accusations that his former paymasters were accusing him of faking the illness.
The Paarl-born tactician was allegedly called for a disciplinary hearing. He was found guilty of the offence and fired.
He was replaced by Brendan Dawson, who guided the Sables to the Victoria Cup title later in the year.
Sadly, Odille Monk (28), De Villiers’ daughter in question, died last month. .
PDV lived up to his word and never left her side, right up to her passing on December 15, 2019.
