BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
RUGBY activities in the country might still be prohibited, but the domestic game’s leadership is already exploring ways to mitigate the devastating financial effects of coronavirus, as the sport remains hopeful of making a return to the playing field later this year after a frustrating six months.
Rugby, which is the third most popular sport in the country after football and cricket, has been on hold for the past six months owing to the coronavirus lockdown measures, which resulted in the indefinite postponement of the 2020 season.
While other sporting disciplines have recently been allowed to resume training by the Sports ministry under strict safety guidelines, rugby in Zimbabwe remains suspended as it is still classified under “high risk” sports because of its high contact nature.
This has meant a more frustrating period on the sidelines for clubs, players and non-playing staff.
In an a wide-ranging interview with Standardsport last week, Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) president Aaron Jani revealed that the coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on the domestic game.
Jani, who is also a member of the Rugby Africa executive committee, said the postponements and cancellations of domestic and international tournaments since March had negatively impacted the players’ careers while also leaving his union financially hamstrung.
Most local players use the platform offered by representing the country at junior and senior level to earn opportunities to further their education and rugby outside the country, mainly in neighbouring South Africa.
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“The impact of Covid-19 has been extremely devastating for the union. “If you look at our constituency, we’ve got three categories of members. We’ve got those who are still age grade rugby players, they’re still going to school and those obviously still fall under their parents,” Jani said.
“We have also got the open age groups where we have those that are employed but are playing rugby on a part-time basis. We also have those who I would call semi-professionals, who have no formal jobs but rely on rugby to earn a livelihood — these are the ones that have been most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.
The former Zimbabwe international revealed that the pandemic had also negatively impacted the union’s ability to generate the much needed revenue to keep the sport afloat.
“In as far as the union itself is concerned, you must remember that we generate most of our revenue through staging events and if there is no rugby being played it means you cannot approach corporates in the traditional sense to try and get resources so that you develop rugby or implement all the development programmes that you have in your book,” he said.
Nevertheless, instead of relying solely on the annual grant from World Rugby and handouts, Jani said his union had embarked on a number of initiatives to generate revenue for the Sables.
ZRU recently launched an online fundraising initiative in an effort to galvanise support for the Sables, who are aiming to qualify for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
“But further to this we also realise that this is an opportunity for us to look at alternative ways of raising funds particularly using social media. You will notice that in the next couple of weeks there’s going to be a big thrust in terms of fundraising for the Sables,” the ZRU boss said.
“This will take shape in the form of social media so we are revamping our website and we are going to launch a new website that is compatible with the current situation that we are in of the Covid-19 environment where everything is being done virtually. This is how we are now going to be talking to our sponsors and potential sponsors who want to assist the union or teams within the union.”
Jani expressed gratitude to World Rugby after it availed a 5 000 euros Covid-19 relief package through Rugby Africa, which they resolved to channel to buying food hampers and personal protective equipment for players.
ZRU is also awaiting another relief package from the Sports and Recreation Commission, who have pledged to assist a section of the country’s rugby national teams.
