For the first time in 10 years, Zimbabwe’s top sportspersons for the year will not be honoured as per tradition during the Annual National Sports Awards (ANSA) due to reasons which have not been well understood.
InsideSport with MICHAEL KARIATI
Traditionally, the most outstanding sportspersons of the year were rewarded before the festive period in an event that usually puts a cap on the Zimbabwean sports calendar for each year. It was heartening to see the likes of Nick Price, Kirsty Coventry, Byron Black, the late Langton “Schoolboy” Tinago, Cara Black, Duncan Fletcher, Samson Muripo, Andy Flower, Sarah-Jane Murphy, Charles Manyuchi and Ian Robertson stand on the podium to receive the biggest prize in Zimbabwean sport. It should be placed on record that no footballer, including the legendary George Shaya, has won this prestigious award in its long history with the late great Stanley “Sinyo” Ndunduma only winning the Junior Sportsperson of the Year Award in 1981 when he was also voted the Soccer Star of the Year. What mattered most to the winning Zimbabwe Sportsperson of the Year was not the prize money that was associated with clinching the award, but the pride that went on in being crowned the king or queen of Zimbabwean sport. Sadly, though, the award will not be presented this year with talk doing the rounds being that the sponsors Delta Beverages have decided to pull out due to the harsh economic climate. Who can fault Delta Beverages in their decision, and after all, they also sponsor most if not all, the sporting disciplines in this country including football’s Castle Lager Premier Soccer League and the sport’s biggest knockout tournament, Chibuku Super Cup, as well as the Castle Tankard and also have a big input in the Zimbabwe Open Golf tournament? “The ANSA ceremony, which had been scheduled to take place on December 18, 2018 in Harare, has been deferred to a later date in March 2019,” read a statement from the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC). “The prevailing economic conditions are not favourable to host such awards due to costs escalation,” SRC added. If that is the situation, then how will the awards be presented in March when the economic atmosphere is expected to be even tougher than it is right now? What guarantee is there that the awards will be presented at all? It is a fact that the ANSA ceremony loses its glamour and prestige when it is not held for a year or so and the fact that the awards are not being presented as per tradition this year has taken away the glamour associated with the event. As organisers of this prestigious event, the SRC itself should have taken over the financial responsibility of hosting this ceremony as the awards — in the first place — should be the responsibility of the government. The total sponsorship package for the ANSA was not more than $100 000 and the SRC cannot say the Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation ministry does not have such a relatively small amount to host Zimbabwe’s most outstanding sportspersons, and encourage them to do even better in future. The reason why the SRC took the ANSA away from the Sports Writers’ Association of Zimbabwe in the first place was to make sure that the Sportsperson of the Year Award would be presented consistently and that should remain the case whether there is a sponsor or not. The SRC has made a commitment that the awards would be presented in March 2019, and that promise should be kept. Simple as that. End of the Zifa fight A full gathering of all the 58 Zimbabwe Football Association councillors should be in house today to vote for the Zifa presidency and end the long fight between incumbent Phillip Chiyangwa and challenger Felton Kamambo. At one time, though, it looked like Chiyangwa would not have any opposition, but after too many twists and turns; the Harare businessman faces Kamambo in an election which will decide the Zimbabwe football leader for the next four years. Whatever the outcome of the elections, football should be the ultimate winner and it is hoped that Zimbabwean football will move forward rather than backwards over the next four years. Whoever loses should give the winner the support he needs if Zimbabwean football is to regain its unity as the southern African nation seeks to qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and ultimately the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar. Football is bigger than individuals.
l For your comments, views and suggestions, email [email protected] or WhatsApp on 077 3 266 779.
