John Ndlovu
The Zimbabwe National Handball Federation has disclosed that it is working on establishing a nationwide league.
The revelations were made to Zim GBC News by the National Federation’s Secretary General Edson Chirowodza who stated that the Federation was drawing up plans of establishing a National League which will comprise of twelve teams per gender expanding from regional leagues that were held last season in a bid to strengthen the sport in the country.
“We are planning to start our National League this season, last year we had regional leagues where teams around the country were competing at regional levels, so this time around we are planning to take things to a National level.”Chirowodza said.
The National Handball Federation Secretary General also revealed to this publication that there will be an open season tournament and the regional leagues which will kick start in March, where top teams from each region will battle it out in the National Championships for honors to represent the country at the Inter-Continental/Regional Championships.
“This year we will continue with the regional leagues which will start in March where we are going to have an Open Season tournament, after the Regional Leagues we will then continue with National Championships where top teams from each league will play in the National Championships where winners will then represent the National at Intercontinental/Regional First and Continental Club Championships.”He added.
Chirowodza also stated that the Federation was planning to introduce a Women’s League which will be used selecting the team to represent the Women’s Under 18 and Under 20 in the International Handball Federation (IHF) trophy for Zone Six which will be the qualifier for World Youth and Junior Ladies Championships tournament penciled for South Africa in May.
“We are also planning to have the Women’s Under 18 and Under 20 teams participating at the IHF trophy for the Zone Six which is going to be a qualifier for the World Youth and Junior Ladies Championships, the tournament is set for May in South Africa. Preparations for these competitions are ongoing. We are also looking forward to having our Senior Men and Women participating at All Africa Games Qualifiers which are yet to be confirmed.”He said.
The Handball Secretary General also praised Zimbabweans who cheered on the national teams during the Zone VI Games that the country hosted which was live streamed for more than two mill in viewers worldwide.
“So far people are receiving the sport as evidenced by the Zone VI games that we hosted last year, when we live streamed some of our matches and we reached over two-million viewers worldwide during ie match.”Chirowodza stated.
The Zimbabwe Handball team managed to bag a silver medal at the Zonal Championships while the Junior team claimed a gold medal at the same competition that won them a ticket to represent the Nation and the Region at the Continental Championships which were held in Congo Brazzaville early this year. However, team Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the World Championships from these qualifiers which were held in Central Africa.
“Part of our achievements as a Nation is that of grabbing a silver medal with our Youth team while our Junior team grabbed gold, this saw them taking part in the African Championships that were held in Congo Brazzaville, however they failed to progress through to the World Championships.”Chinorowodza also said.