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TOGETHER AS ONE . . . Charles Nhemachena, the director-general of the Sports Commission (second from right) and the president of the Zimbabwe Handball Federation Amon Madzvamuse (second from left) share a lighter moment with the general manager of Japan’s Mikasa Corporation Noriaki Hirata (left) and the company’s director Yuji Saeki in Harare yesterday

Collin Matiza Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE is still lagging behind in the provision of various sport equipment and it is an area the Sport and Recreation Commission would like to see being addressed as a matter of urgency if sport is to grow in this country.
Speaking while welcoming the visiting two executives of a top Japanese sports goods manufacturing company Mikasa Corporation in Harare yesterday, the Sports Commission’s director-general Charles Nhemachena said they would also like to see sporting facilities being availed to everybody in this country from the urban areas right down to grassroots level.

Nhemachena said they (the Sports Commission) hoped that the impending coming in of Mikasa Corporation as one of the major suppliers of sport equipment in Zimbabwe will help turn the country into one of the sports powerhouses in Africa, if not in the world.

“I am aware that you (Mikasa Corporation) are here in Africa to familiarise yourself with the environment and the opportunities that might be available for your company to explore in Africa, and here in Zimbabwe, we want to avail ourselves to any possible partnership that we can get.

“One of the areas that we need and we need badly (to address) is the area of the provision of sport equipment and I’m glad that you people (from Mikasa) are from that area.

Basically without equipment, without facilities there’s no sport to talk about.

“So our aim really is to make sure that  we avail as much facilities as possible not only in urban areas but right down to grassroots level and we want to see more (development) programmes being implemented starting from the grassroots level.

“So, it is in that area that we obviously would like to see an improvement in, especially in the area of equipment. We would like to see more sporting equipment available for the athletes at all levels,” Nhemachena said.

Nhemachena’s meeting with Mikasa Corporation’s general manager Noriaki Hirata and director Yuji Saeki was facilitated by the Zimbabwe Handball Federation and he said it was their hope that the two parties (ZHF and Mikasa) will soon get into a partnership that will help handball to grow from strength to strength in this country.

“We hope that handball will engage with you and our handball is actually on the rise in terms of participation and also in terms of competing at various levels. Many years ago we never used to compete at international level, like taking part in the Partille Cup (in Sweden) but now we are taking part in all these competitions.

“So we are happy with that and we would like to see how you’ll try to engage Africa and how possibly you can help the sport to grow in this country,” Nhemachena said.

In response, Mikasa’s general manager Hirata said they were glad to be given the platform to meet with the director general of the country’s supreme sports body and they would like to forge a strong partnership with Zimbabwe.

Hirata said they were aware that many African countries, including Zimbabwe, were in dire need of sporting equipment like sports balls and they were keen “to correct this anomaly”.

“We are here as Mikasa to see how Zimbabwe and Africa can work together. We want to discuss our future relationship with the continent. Our motto is ‘Mikasa Sports everyday’ and we know that everyone wants to play sport, from children to adults, and they need equipment like sport balls.

“So, we’ve come here on a fact-finding mission to see how Mikasa can come in and help in providing sport equipment to Africa. That is why we are here in Zimbabwe just to see how you’re running your things and then we will see how we can come in to assist you in this regard… That is the reason why we are here and we want to discuss this matter for our future relationship,” Hirata said.

Yesterday’s meeting was also attended by the ZHF president Amon Madzvamuse and his secretary-general Alphios Magiya who both said the visit by the two Mikasa executives was a welcome development which would also see their federation coming up with a good working relationship with the Japanese company in the future.

“Like the Sports Commission, we are also happy that you Mikasa are here in Zimbabwe to discuss our future relationship. We are also for the future. So as the Zimbabwe Handball Federation, we are here to see that when you think about partnerships you will also think about (engaging) Zimbabwe.

“Our sport is growing and the Zimbabwe Handball Federation have managed to put our sport on the world map as the (Sports Commission’s) director general has said and we are now playing handball at regional and international level. We’ve been playing in the Partille Cup in Sweden for the past four years and this year we are hoping to send more than 100 players there again.

“We’ve also been invited to take part in the Interamnia World Cup in Italy this year and this means we are growing as the ZHF and we need to prepare our future today by getting into partnerships with key stakeholders like Mikasa.

“So, we are happy that you are here to assist us in our efforts to develop the sport of handball in Zimbabwe,” Madzvamuse said.

Mikasa’s executives Hirata and Saeki, who also met and had lunch yesterday with Maureen Nyemba, the managing director of one of the country’s major suppliers of sporting goods and equipment Betta Ball Sports, arrived in the country on Thursday and they are expected to return home today.

Mikasa Corporation is a manufacturer of high grade athletic balls, equipment and accessories and has become the equipment of choice in international competitions for a number of sporting disciplines that include handball, basketball, volleyball, football, beach volleyball and water polo.