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Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter

THE local organising committee of the upcoming International Handball Federation Trophy Zone VI due to take place next month in Harare has said they have made progress in their preparations to host the event.

The tournament is scheduled to run from October 17 to 23 and will feature the Under-18 and Under-20 men’s teams.

Addressing the media yesterday at Girls High School, LOC chief executive, Edson Chirowodza, said renovations at the competition venues — Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex and City Sports Centre are expected to commence soon.

“On the issue of facilities, I want to confirm that there is some work that has already started in terms of procurement of what is required towards the facilities’ refurbishment.

“In the past weeks we have been engaging the Sports and Recreation Commission and also the Ministry of Sport.

“At Ministry level there is progress as they also confirmed with us that renovations should be starting very soon, particularly in areas of concern which include the lighting system at Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex, the remarking of the floor surface and the ceilings. And just working on the interior and external parts of the wall. So this is what we expect to commence as soon as possible.

“Based on our engagements with the City of Harare, we have also identified areas that need attention and the City of Harare has also committed to also come in handy to make sure that by the time the games start where there is need particularly the issues of the ablution facilities, they have said they will be engaging their plumbers to also work on that area.

“In terms of lighting, they also agreed to say they will work on the lighting of the venue.

“Prior to the competition, we will have a dry run event at City Sports Centre because it’s a venue that we have not been using for years . . . So we look forward to staging a competition there before the actual Zone Six,” said Chirowodza.

The participating countries have submitted their provisional squads to the continental board and based on the submissions, nine countries are expected to take part in the regional tournament.

These include Malawi, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.