Sports Reporter
THE Ministry of Sport and Recreation has announced that the Sport and Recreation Policy was approved by Cabinet on Tuesday.
The policy aims to unlock the potential of sport and recreation as an industry and address the re-organisation of the sector through a “Sport and Recreation For All” approach that envisages the democratisation of and the decentralisation of sport and recreation delivery agents to the grassroots and other previously disadvantaged communities.
Furthermore, the policy’s thrust is also the establishment of a sound competitions structure that starts from the base of the pyramid to the national level by all sport and recreation delivery agents.
The competitions structure should promote the identification, development and tracking of talent from the grassroots level to the top of the pyramid.
The welfare of athletes, coaches and trainers, referees and umpires are also addressed by the policy and the Government will move swiftly to establish commissions that address the welfare, peer education, empowerment and organisation of labour in the sports sector.
“The policy is an important compass to guide and unravel the National Vision for sport and recreation in Zimbabwe on the basis of which legislation on match-fixing, anti-doping and other forms of cheating in sport is to be enacted,” reads the statement.
“Discrimination against women and the disabled are important thematic issues that have also been addressed in the policy.
The policy further addresses the celebration and projection of culture and identity through a well-organised indigenous games’ structure, while at the same time promoting a culture of physical fitness and wellness for all in Zimbabwe, among other things.”
