By Lloyd Takawira
Sports enthusiasts feel jolted by the move to introduce stiffer lockdown restrictions after having just resumed sporting activities following a year long sabbatical.
Football had returned about two months ago, with only the top-flight leagues given the nod to train and play.
The men’s league started with the Chibuku Super Cup and the main league programme was tentatively set to start July 19. The women’s league was scheduled to start on June 19 and clubs were currently training as part of their pre-season.
Some of the sporting disciplines, such as athletics, were getting to their peak, having held a number of competitions, since the resumption of sport including the Inter-provincial Track and Field Championships. Tennis Zimbabwe just hosted two International Tennis Federation 18-and-Under tournaments in Bulawayo that ended on Saturday and were resuming local tournaments.
However, last night the Sports and Recreation SRC after some confusion over sporting activities issued a statement clarifying that all sporting activities are suspended.
All sporting activities and events are hereby suspended with effect from Monday 14 June 2021 until further notice.
“All national sports associations, clubs, gyms, and related stakeholders should abide by this suspension without exception.
“The SRC is well aware of certain on-going, or contemplated, national sports commitments (including qualifiers for international events) and will be in urgent direct communication with the relevant national associations thereof on guidance, and other mitigatory measures, in light of the above suspension,” reads the statement.
Responding to the media Premier Soccer League chief executive Kenny Ndebele yesterday said that they will stand guided by the Government.
“We will follow all Government directives and guidelines,” he said.
Sporting activities such as handball had resumed. However speaking to state media yesterday, Zimbabwe Handball Federation ZHF secretary-general, Edison Chirowodza,said they will revert back to online-based programmes.
“The ban is a drawback as we were gearing up and most of our league games had started.
“We are going to revert to online based activities as we recently acquired an online app called XPS where we are engaging our players on training programmes and activities,” said Chirowodza.
Judo Association of Zimbabwe said that most of the clubs had already started training in preparation for the resumption of competition matches, after more than a year of inactivity.
The association’s president, Smart Deke, said they will wait and come up with the best possible way to start again, when they get the green light to do so.
“We are now going to wait again and see how best we are going to start again as we are also monitoring this situation of Covid-19 because, really, we were now about to resume fully.
“But, now that the spike is also hitting us again we have to abide to what we are being required to do so that we can all fight this invisible giant of Covid-19,” said Deke.
Some football players who spoke to Bustop TV News on condition of anonymity expressed disappointment over the blanket ban on soccer arguing that matches were being played on empty stadia hence they should have been allowed to resume.
“My brother, imagine that’s what we survive on, now it’s back to home at least they should allow us to train. I remember the struggles l had during 2020. l had to beg from relatives,” one premier league player said.
Fans also expressed dissatisfaction with the ban on sporting events with some saying at least they had became used to watching their teams despite not attending matches physically.
Zachariah Mushambe a football enthusiast said, “I would be glued to my computer watching my favorite team on ZTN, now they have banned it.”
