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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter

GOVERNMENT, with the help of energy giants Sakunda Holdings, are putting together modalities on the setting up of a High Performance Centre at the National Sports Stadium.

Officials from different Government Ministries along with staff from Sakunda Holdings are currently on a learning expedition, touring world class stadia and HPCs with a view to applying the same concepts back home.

Yet their initial mission was looking at how European countries structure their football grounds.

But the trip has been such an eye-opener and the Government have already put up plans to set up an HPC at the giant facility.

After visiting HPCs in Sevilla, Barcelona, and Madrid, they have decided to adopt the same model at the National Sports Stadium.

The giant facility has repeatedly been condemned due to the lack of requisite structures like bucket seats.

Sakunda Holdings programs coordinator Nqobile Magwizi said his company was committed to chipping in and see to it that the proposed HPC sees the light of the day.

Already Sakunda Holdings have partnered the Government in the ongoing renovations of the National Sports Stadium.

He urged the private sector to also invest resources in the construction of sports facilities.

“Private sector participation has a huge bearing on shaping communities and how communities can be transformed structurally.

“The athletes have a role to play in being role models to the youth. Ultimately it impacts on how communities can be transformed from an economic point of view.

“I want to encourage those that have doubts on the impact of sport that they should participate just like how Sakunda Holdings have been participating” said Magwizi.

“It helps on economic growth because sport is a huge sphere.

“If Zimbabwe has a high performance centre it would obviously accelerate the manner in which we perform.

“It will help beyond the way we have been achieving.

“It’s totally mind blowing how these high performance centres can be used as a tool to economic growth”

The idea has been backed by the Zimbabwe Ambassador to Germany Alice Mashingaidze who hosted the entourage in Germany yesterday.

“Everything (that you have seen here in Europe) should be taken seriously. Here the school children are screened at a lower level, those who have got skill or talent in sport are diverted torwards sport,” she said.

“In Zimbabwe, we have Education 5.0 which also supports that.

“This thing that you are undertaking needs infrastructure to support that and you also need to understudy others like what yku have done”.

Director Sport and Recreation in the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Eugenia Chidhakwa said the HPC will help in the development of athletes.

“At these high performance centres we were taken through how they prepare their athletes for say the Olympics,” said Chidhakwa.

“Already they have athletes for next year’s Olympics in France and they are not stopping there. They also have athletes preparing for the 2028 and 2032 Games.

“They also do prioritization of sports rather than taking everything on board.

“So having our own High Performance Centre will enable us to do the same”.