Zim fails to send boxing team to Zone 4 Games Charles Manyuchi
Charles Manyuchi

Charles Manyuchi

Gilbert Munetsi, Harare Bureau
ZIMBABWE has failed to send a boxing team to the Zone 4 Games, which begin in Maputo today, prompting an individual club to sacrifice their resources to make an appearance.

Ten countries are expected at the regional competitions and despite the Zimbabwe Boxing Federation having hosted a selective tournament at Sizinda Beer Gardens a week ago, where 15 pugilists made it into the national team, logistical bungling has resulted in the failure by the country to send the team.

ZBF secretary-general, Arvin Mathe, confirmed they had failed to raise the $10 680 required for travel and board for the five-day sports extravaganza which had confirmations from South Africa, Angola, Zambia, Lesotho, Botswana, the Comoros and the hosts, Mozambique.

“We prepared all the paperwork for all our 2018 tours as way back as last year and on January 2, this year, I personally made a resubmission, only to be told at the last moment that we could not be assisted though we had been cleared by the SRC (Sport and Recreation Commission).

“The reasons given ranged from that we had not audited our books for the 2014-15 period and the other was that all sports associations were now eligible for bidding for such requirements as regional and international tours of duty,” said Mathe.

He said his executive’s books are only due for audit in April.

The previous executive, led by Lovemore Malianga, was dissolved by the SRC for failure to abide by the Commission’s expectations.

A member of the SRC’s High Performance Committee, Martin Dururu, confirmed the relevant paperwork for travel had passed through their offices and they had issued a support letter for the provision of a bus.

The Principal Director in the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Recreation, Benson Dube, said he knew nothing about it.

“You should know you guys, or ask anaManyuchi,” he said.

Meanwhile, the amount of work and preparation put into the Games has prompted the Charles Manyuchi Sports Academy to use their resources for their eight boxers to travel to Mozambique.

They left Harare by road on Sunday and were expected to have arrived in Maputo late yesterday.

CMSA technical director, Steven Masiyambumbi, said it was their vision to expose their products to international tournaments.

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