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Collin Matiza

Sports Editor

BEAUTY MTSAMBIWA, the headmistress of Girls High School in Harare, has promised to change the face of handball in this country.

She wrote her own piece of history, during an elective annual meeting of the Zimbabwe Handball Federation, in the capital last Friday.

The seasoned sports administrator was elected as the new president of the Zimbabwe Handball Federation.

She becomes the first female to hold the post.

Mtsambiwa also joins an elite club of Zimbabwean women, who are taking leadership roles in sport administration, in the country.

They include the president of the Zimbabwe Netball Association, Leticia Chipandu, and Mary Kloppers, who is the president of the Zimbabwe Aquatic Union.

Although handball is not among the 24 sport codes which, last Wednesday were given the greenlight by the Sports Commission to resume their activities, the ZHF got the greenlight to hold their annual meeting.

The elections were presided over by the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee.

Mtsambiwa is the new president after she beat incumbent, Stewart Sanhewe, by seven votes to three.

She will be in charge for the next four years.

“Now, it’s the time to work, we have to eat what we kill, we need to employ entrepreneurship skills, if we want to be successful,’’ she said.

“At the end of my tenure, I want to leave this office knowing that handball is business in Zimbabwe.”

She told The Herald yesterday she felt greatly honoured to serve the (local) handball fraternity.

“This is a great stride, not only for me, but for all women in general, and I promise that I will not let them down. I promise to work tirelessly to improve handball in Zimbabwe.’’

And, her promises to improve the standards of handball in this country, include:

Embracing scientific approach to handball in Zimbabwe. This includes the dietary, fitness, tactics development and psychological awareness and preparedness of the players, skills and technology usage.

Exposure to international standards.

Improvement of facilities to meet international standards.

Participation in regional and international tournaments and exchanges.

Development at grassroots levels which acts as the pipeline to the national teams.

Empowering and developing officials to international standards.

Seeking international partnerships to assist in terms of technology, facilities management and training of athletes.

And Mtsambiwa also said the objectives of this seven-point plan are:

To introduce handball skills and management at grassroots level.

To facilitate  the selection and training of teams which will participate in CAGB Championship in 2024.

To ensure that every province has standard handball facilities.

To empower technical officials through training and workshops.

To empower women so that there is gender balance for technical officials.

To form grassroots clubs at the grassroots level and ensure formation of viable leagues nationwide.

To coordinate handball in tertiary institutions.

Reginald Tsimba was elected vice-president while Petros Nyathi, and seasoned handball coach Clemence Tauro, will be the committee members.

Edson Chirowodza remains the ZHF secretary-general.

Tsimba got seven votes to oust Alfos Mhondiwa, who was part of the outgoing executive led by Sanhewe, which came into office in December 2016.

Mhondiwa got three votes.

He got zero and one vote, when he wanted to run for the committee member’s position.

“I really wanted to remain in the leadership of handball in this country but people shifted allegiance, at the last minute, but we are not worried much as I’m going back to work more on the academy in Chinhoyi which I wasn’t having much time on,” Mhondiwa said. Some feel the Sanhewe-led executive failed to deliver on the promises that they made, when they got into office, towards the end of 2016.