Joseph Muchechetere
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE management team for Zimbabwe’s African Union Sports Council Region Five Under-20 squad have proposed a two week training camp following the endorsement of the team by the Sport and Recreation Commission on Monday.
Zimbabwe is hoping to send a delegation of 198 athletes for the various sport codes during the December 5 to 18 biannual games.
“We are set to go. The team has been endorsed by the board and as we speak the technical guys are finalizing on issues to do with the team camp as you are aware that a bigger number of the team is in schools and colleges so they need to talk the relevant authorities and come to an understanding on the conducive camp dates,” said the SRC acting director general Joseph Muchechetere.
He said while Bulawayo and Hwange have been proposed as possible camp venues due to almost similar weather conditions to those in Luanda, Angola, there hasn’t been any final decision yet.
“Right now calculations in terms of the budget needed for that purpose are going on. Like we said we want the best possible preparations for these games because we are not going to Angola to add numbers, we are going there to compete,” said Muchechetere.
The acting director general said the commission was working flat out to raise the balance of the participation fees and was hopeful that they would have paid the difference by the time the games begin. Zimbabwe paid a deposit fee of $54 000 in October.
Zimbabwe’s Chef de Mission for the games, Chiedza Mafunga said the final announcement of the team will be done once all those who have been called up have been officially informed.
“Yes we have the team but it will be premature for us to announce it through the media before informing the individuals concerned. Ideally we would want to announce it as we go for our key performance camp which is around mid November,” said Mafunga.
Venues for the sport codes have already been identified with athletics set to be held at Estadio dos Coqueiros, basketball at Pavilhao da Cidadela, the same venue for boxing and judo.
Netball will be at Codem, tennis at the Club Tenis de Luanda while Piscina de Alvalade will play host to swimming.
The African Union Sport Council Region5 (AUSC Region5) is the sports arm of the African Union, which was once the Organisation of African Unity. It was formed in the 1960s, and its headquarters is based in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
The main aim of the AUSC is to use sports to achieve peace, integration and unity in Africa, to have sport as a vehicle of encouraging people to develop and come together, irrespective of colour, economic status, political, class, or gender.