Zimpapers Logo

Ngqabutho Moyo Sports Reporter
FORMER National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe board member Dennis Sinyolo has urged the nation to invest in sports development to improve the country’s performances at international level. He told Chronicle Sport that there is a need for the nation to invest more in sport particularly at grassroots level for national teams to be able to produce better results on the global scene.

“It’s saddening to look at Zimbabwe’s performances at the World Championships and Olympics. We have a few exceptions that have done well, of which it’s in swimming. I am talking of an individual (Kirsty Coventry) and hockey in 1980, they did very well and deserve recognition,” said Sinyolo.

Sinyolo said investing in junior sport would see a breed of athletes who would go on to conquer the world as they would have grasped the sport’s fundamentals at a tender age.

“The only way we can improve our standards is to develop identified talent at grassroots level and nurture them through centres of excellence, talent development and exposure at provincial, national, regional and international level. There is need to foster a culture of sport and competition at community level and school level.

“The government must implement policies that will motivate and influence investment in sports at grassroot level. There must be more resources invested in grassroots sports meaning that the Sport and Recreation Commission has to pay more attention to grassroots sport. There is need to catch all athletes young and nurture them from that level,” said Sinyolo

He added that the government needs to allocate a separate budget that is specifically focused on sports development at grassroots level.
“Sport is very important and I feel that maybe the government should dedicate a budget particularly for the development of sports at a grassroots level, so that talent is discovered early and nurtured before athletes waste it and throw it away as they grow,” said Sinyolo.

Sinyolo said he believes Zimbabwe can do better on the international scene than other countries with smaller populations as the base to choose from was wider with infrastructure available.

“I cannot accept that Zimbabwe cannot perform well in international platforms. Sport in the country is not given enough support. They need to do better,” he said.

According to Sinyolo the country should balance between academic and sporting curriculae in schools. Sport, he said, is part of education, like academics. It must be taught and nurtured to prepare one for life and to live productively from it, he said.