The roll out of Heyball to provinces throughout the country in January 2026 has been given a go ahead following the submission of a comprehensive draft constitution and roadmap by the National Heyball Association of Zimbabwe (NHAZ) for adoption by the national cue sport governing board Zimbabwe Pool Association (ZIPA).
Heyball is a variation of sport that is played on a bigger table as compared to the one used for 8-ball, which is normally referred to as pool.
What is currently being played and is more popular here in Zimbabwe is English 8-ball, which was renamed Blackball pool.
Heyball is a term adopted and used by the Chinese to mean Chinese 8-ball while Blackball is English 8-ball.
The major difference is on the table size, playing equipment and the applicable rules. The other difference on rules is on the break shot and penalty for fouls.
Heyball uses a 9ft table while blackball table measures 7ft, so both sports genres are versions of 8-ball whose names differ by origin or region.
In an interview, NHAZ president Nomore Muzvidziwa confirmed that they have been given a go-ahead to operationalise heyball following their successful submission of the constitution and roadmap of the sport as mandated by the national cue sport (pool) governing board ZIPA.
“We have submitted the draft constitution to ZIPA and were given the go ahead to see its adoption and operationalisation. Our aim is to open registration in January 2026 and have our first annual general meeting {AGM} by June next year. So far, we have referees trainings that took place at the same time with Blackball in different provinces. We have so far managed to hold one tournament this year,” Muzvidziwa said.
- ZIPA gives nod to Heyball
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He was quick to allay fears and suspicions that Heyball was meant to replace or compete with Blackball (pool) saying they complement each other and players should embrace both sports genres.
“That is the major reason why both disciplines fall under ZIPA so that their activities should be synchronized. The other thing is that Heyball comes with huge perks for players so the challenge is for them to master the game and win the huge prizes for their own benefit,” Muzvidziwa said.
NHAZ was established by the ZIPA Council in 2024 as an affiliate and the board was given a one year mandate with the task of coming up with a constitution and a clear roadmap for adoption and full implementation of the sport.
The NHAZ board comprises Nomore Muzvidziwa (president), Collen Mupariwa (vice president), Enock Chikaka (Secretary General), Passmore Ndebvu (treasurer general), Paradzai Mhangwa (board member development), Rodwell Mashatise (board member marketing, publicity and sponsorship), Benjamin Mabhugu (board member technical) and Tapiwa Tirivavi (committee member).
The introduction and adoption of Heyball was necessitated by the fervent desire to expand the scope of pool and opportunities for players in Zimbabwe.
“We need to expose our players to various forms of pool disciplines under the World Pool Association {WPA}. There are other variations of pool, which we are yet to adopt in Zimbabwe and I hope that going forward, we should be able to rope them in,” Muzvidziwa said.
The other variations of the sport include Eight-Ball pool where players pocket seven solid balls or stripes and then the 8-ball to win.
There is also Nine-Ball Pool in which players must contact the lowest numbered ball first and the 9-ball can be pocketed at any given time to win.
In Straight Pool, players pocket any ball and the goal is to score points by pocketing balls.
In Bank Pool, players must bank (bounce) the cue ball off a rail before hitting an object ball.
The sport also has the One-Pocket Pool where players compete to pocket balls in a designated pocket.
NHAZ has sent players to international competitions in China and India, thanks to their sponsors and partners that have supported the initiative.
In the ladies circuit, players that once participated in China include two national team (Fish Eagles) players Christine Sengwe and Placky Machipisa in 2024. During the same year, Priscilla Chisoro and Prisca Mujakachi also partook the event with Diana Kabasa taking part this year.
In the male category, decorated player Malvern Mukonza partook the tournament in 2024 as well as this year. Another pool pundit Eshca Chimbwanda also participated in 2024 with national team doyen Blessing Muzarurwi participating in 2024-5 as well. Another national team player of repute Stephen Paswani also participated in 2024.
The unrelenting duo of Elliot Chikwepa and Willie Mutingwa also participated in 2024 in the afar field of China.
Prior to that, silent assassin Tendai Mubaiwa had also taken part and seen it all in 2023 at that prestigious level of the game.
However, Malvern Mukonza, affectionately known as Maluva and Blessing Muzarurwi remain the best players that qualify to be called lynchpins of cue sport in Zimbabwe that have managed to reach the money spinning stage in 2025.
Another high flying player of a cue stick of shining armour Richard Mushobe participated in the Under-19 tournament in India in 2024 and performed well lifting the national flag with majesty.
Currently, Heyball has only two functional tables in Harare that were used for a tournament in January and the board aspires to have at least a table in each province as a starting point.
“Currently, we only have two functional tables in Harare, which we used for our tournament in January. Our aim is to have at least one table per province as a start. Each table costs about $3 500 and that translates to about US$40 000 for 11 provinces,” Muzvidziwa said.
Geographically, in the country we have ten provinces but in pool, Chitungwiza is regarded as a province on its own hence the statistical permutation that NHAZ is budgeting with 11 provinces.
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