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Russell Mhiribidi, Sliz director

Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Sports Leaders Institute of Zimbabwe (Sliz) has urged sport associations’ leaders to familiarise themselves with the new Sports and Recreation Policy which is in line with Government’s efforts of improving the local sports industry.

Through the policy, administrators will be graded according to qualifications that they have with the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) creating a regulatory authority which will ensure qualified people lead sporting associations.

Russell Mhiribidi, the Sliz president said standardisation of administrators has been long overdue.

Speaking after successfully hosting the third Sliz Summer Camp which ended on Sunday in Nyanga and had 320 participants including 11 Zambians Mhiribidi said his organisation will complement Government’s effort through their capacity building exercises.

“Sliz’s existence is to build capacity building and ensure that sports administrators embrace the right fundamentals of sport management. We’re happy with the new development that the SRC is undertaking following the Ministry of Sports and Recreation’s successful push for the sports policy. As Sliz we’re ready to play our part towards equipping and building leaders.

“We need to work together because sport is all about teamwork, has become highly scientific and so it is difficult to just function properly if you are simply elected and don’t have any sport management education to count on,” said Mhiribidi.

Through their training programmes and camps held for teachers, tertiary institutions, government parastatals and some sporting organisations as well as football clubs, Sliz has trained over 2 000 people in three years.

Mhiribidi said they are planning on embarking on more training programmes in 2017.

“We will continue with our training programmes and hope sporting associations and aspiring administrators will attend our capacity building workshops so that when grading starts they are not found wanting. Our programmes are competent as we have highly qualified facilitators so that participants are equipped with the right knowledge that helps them become better leaders,” Mhiribidi said.

The speakers at the just ended camp included Dr Joyce Ndabi of Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam, Zambia’s Musunza Sombwa who used to operate from his country’s Olympic Development Centre as well as World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited doctor Nicholas Munyonga.

The deputy director of schools sport, physical education, arts and culture in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Tendai Tagara and the acting SRC director-general Joseph Muchechetere also made presentations at the camp.

@ZililoR.