Zimbabwe: City Hornets Cleared to Travel to South Africa

By Tadious Manyepo

HARARE City Hornets ladies' side have begun their preparations for the upcoming FIBA Championships following their clearance by the Sports and Recreation Commission to participate in the meet.

The FIBA Zone VI Championships will be staged in Johannesburg, South Africa, from November 15-22.

The municipal side, who are the reigning national champions, were nominated by the FIBA to represent Zimbabwe, after the local programme was decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The club, through the Basketball Union of Zimbabwe, applied for a special waiver to be allowed to travel to South Africa, for the contest.

And, the SRC on Wednesday, gave the team the greenlight to play in the upcoming games.

"The Sports and Recreation Commission hereby gives you notice, following your application, that the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation has APPROVED and granted a special waiver for your application for Harare City Hornets Ladies Team to enable them to travel to Johannesburg, South Africa, and participate in the FIBA Africa Basketball tournament scheduled for 15 to 22 November 2021.

"The activities shall, in addition to the requirements specified in Statutory Instrument 228B of 2021, (be held under) World Health Organisation guidelines on safe resumption of sport, your approved protocols, national legislation and policy directives, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), International Federation protocols relating to the prevention and containment of COVID-19," wrote the SRC.

City Hornets chairman, Sani Mbofana, said the team have been training for the past two weeks, awaiting clearance, from the SRC.

"We are very happy to have been cleared to go to South Africa and play in the FIBA Championships.

"We are now running around looking for sponsorship to go for the games," said Mbofana.

The team last played in March last year and coach, Andrew Chitauro, is hoping his charges will do well in South Africa, although he is concerned about the players' levels of fitness.

"We are now two weeks into preparations, it's proving to be a challenge as most athletes have come back, after almost two years, unfit, and some even carrying excess weight."

But, Chitauro hopes his team would have gained match fitness after the Harare Basketball League announced they will be starting the season this weekend.

Among the players expected to give Chitauro's team a lift are national team stars Patience "PC" Chinhoyi, who recently received the player of the decade award, Sharon Chamwarura and Nyasha Katsatse.

This article originally appeared in The Herald.

Photo: Getty Images