Small sports need Govt support too-ZASPOFA

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 08:02:00 +0000

By Sports Reporter

THE Ministry of Sports should facilitate the growth of other “smaller” sporting disciplines by according them the support that others get if Zambia will continue to reap medals in international competitions,  says  the Zambia Sports Fans Association (ZASPOFA).

ZASPOFA patron Peter Makembo told the Daily Nation yesterday that while there were other sports disciplines that were doing extremely well despite their lack of sponsorship, the Ministry seemed to have tilted much towards football and boxing.

Makembo said despite football and boxing giving Zambia mixed fortunes, the ministry had turned a blind eye to certain sports disciplines which were considered small but had good sportsmen and women who could put the country on the world map if given support.

He said gave swimming, basketball, and handball as some of the ignored sports yet they continued to bring glory to Zambia even under difficult situations, mainly due to lack of funding and any other support.

“Our swimmers have continued giving us very good results from time to time. Just this week, Zambia banged two gold medals and one silver in the Lakers Invitational basketball tournament in Zimbabwe with UNZA Pacers running riot in the tournament and coming back as champions in both the boys’ and girls’ categories.

He said it was important for the ministry to step out of its comfort zones and engage with sports administrators to find solutions to challenges that they were facing in sports administration.

And Makembo said President Lungu’s desire to develop and grow all sporting disciplines should be supplemented by other stakeholders such as corporate entities which should identify and choose which types of sports to support.