Desperate times call for desperate measures

Sport
It might seem a strange idea but CAPS United have gone begging for a cause. The cash-strapped Green Machine have sent a Save Our Soccer (SOS) appeal to their supporters to make donations towards the upkeep of their club.

It might seem a strange idea but CAPS United have gone begging for a cause. The cash-strapped Green Machine have sent a Save Our Soccer (SOS) appeal to their supporters to make donations towards the upkeep of their club.

Under the arrangement, the financially crippled Premier Soccer League club have opened a biller code account with a local mobile phone for their fans or those of other clubs to make donations to ensure that the former PSL champions can fulfill their fixtures.

Some might think this is a laughing matter or a strange idea, but it is something that is happening and could probably help the struggling former Zimbabwe soccer Cup Kings.

This could also turn out to be a real test of their support base as the donations they receive will show that they have genuine supporters.

More importantly is the fact that supporters from other clubs might want to help too for the sake of camaraderie. This is sport after all.

These are desperate times and they call for desperate measures. That is Zimbabwean football for you.

Our boxing heading for extinction

Charles Manyuchi with some members of the Friends of Manyuchi fan club in the capital yesterday

Those who follow the sport of boxing will admit that unless something happens urgently, the sport that gave Africa some of its greatest fighters is heading for extinction.

The sport might be among the more than 35 sporting associations registered with the Sport and Recreation Commission but in reality there is no boxing at all to talk of in Zimbabwe.

The year 2014 came and passed without any boxing tournament being staged and we are almost halfway through the year 2015 and there appears to be no indication that there will be any activity at all on the 2015 calendar.

The Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Control Board revealed that they have not licensed even a single promoter this year. Promoters are the mainstay of any boxing tournament. Not only do they match-make boxers for fights, but they also provide the funding for a tournament either from their own pockets or through a sponsor.

Without promoters, there is no boxing and this is the situation in which Zimbabwean boxing now finds itself. In fact, the sorry state of affairs has forced our boxers to migrate and fight in foreign lands.

World Boxing Council International welterweight title holder Charles Manyuchi now fights in Zambia under Oriental Quarries Boxing Promotions because there is no-one to organise or bankroll his fights in Zimbabwe.

In fact, the outside world now views Manyuchi as Zambian rather than Zimbabwean. Others like Tineyi Mharidzo and Thamsanga Dube have chosen the South African route to earn a living as there is nothing on offer back at home.

This should not be the case. The Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Control Board should create an atmosphere that attracts promoters even if it means they are from foreign lands.

Zimbabwean boxing has a proud tradition that was not easily earned. This is the country that gave the world a three-time Commonwealth champion in the form of Langton Schoolboy Tinago.

This is the same country that gave the world an exciting Commonwealth flyweight champion in the form of Arifonso “The Mosquito” Zvenyika.

This is the same Zimbabwe that gave Africa its greatest heavyweight champion in Proud Kilimanjaro Chinembiri and a continental bantamweight title holder in Stix McLoud.

Fine, the Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Control Board say they are not there to organise fights but to regulate the sport. But what I understand in the word “sport” is that it means activity on the field of play, course, or the ring.

In that respect, there is no need to have a board when there is no activity.

The current situation demands that the board convinces promoters or sponsors to bankroll title fights. If that is not done, the sport will surely disappear, never to resurface.

After the Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao hype, there is need to cry out for our boxing.

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