The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
WITH the monumental 2019 Vitality World Cup appearance well tucked in the history books of the game of netball in the country, the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions have seen the game regressing, as hopeless, yet talented youngsters turn to motherhood.
The Gems, as the Zimbabwe senior national netball team is fondly referred to, rocked the globe as they won their opening Netball World Cup game in Liverpool in July 2019, where their raucous supporters, with their song and dance, caught the world’s eye with the way they destroyed Sri Lanka.
The Gems beat Sri Lanka 79-49 to record their first victory in a World Cup match.
The achievement earned The Gems global attention and international mainstream media outlets like Sky Sport could hardly resist that feat.
‘‘The bar has been set very high indeed . . . this is why we love World Cups! At their first Netball World Cup, Zimbabwe have started with a big win and have shared with us all their superb fans,’’ Sky Sports wrote.
In fact, The Gems’ historic appearance at this global stage alone was enough to capture the attention and imagination of the southern African country’s thirsty for success in sport.
Alas, any efforts to build on the public relations proceeds that came with The Gems’ wit and technical bravura showcased on global stage were soon to be derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As a nation, we gained a lot from our participation in the World Cup and there were immense benefits through exposure to our athletes, but this Covid-19 pandemic brought us down,” conceded the Rainbow Amateur Netball League (RANL) secretary general, Moses Gukurume.
Just like the nation’s best supported sport — football — netball teams in the country have been inactive largely due to lack of the financial clout to fund a bio-bubble league.
The RANL publicist, said a good number of young and talented players were lost during this period of inactivity.
“South Africa hosted Malawi and Botswana late last year under the bio-bubble concept. It is very difficult to recover easily especially when you are dealing with women sport because after the pandemic some players will be nursing, while some will be completely out of shape. We will lose a lot of young talent due to early marriages,” said Gukurume.
Gukurume said the journey post Covid-19 will be a difficult one.
“It is very difficult to predict because a lot of factors will work against the immediate growth of the game after this pandemic. Netball is a sport which does not attract crowds in Zimbabwe traditionally, so many companies do not see much value in putting their money in it. They see limited mileage in supporting women sports.
“Considering that Covid-19 affected most revenue inflows in many companies, it will be difficult to persuade them to prioritise netball in terms of sports sponsorship post the Covid-19 era,” he said.
