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Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
SPORTS personalities, Sikandar Raza and Hilton Mudariki, have added their voices in support of the Covid-19 vaccination awareness drive launched by the Sports Commission.

The campaign, dubbed “Save Our Sport, get your vaccine jab today,” was launched by the country’s sports regulator on Monday.

It is designed to encourage stakeholders, in the sports industry, to embrace vaccination against coronavirus as a way of trying to bring normalcy to the sector.

Raza, who recently returned to the Zimbabwe national cricket team set-up after surgery on his arm, has urged sports people and fans to embrace the national vaccination programme which is currently running under the auspices of the Government.

“I am here to urge those who are yet to get vaccinated. If not for yourself, then do it for the family, do it for your loved ones and do it for your friends and the country.

“Get vaccinated so that one day we can all celebrate together in the cricket field. Get vaccinated so that we can celebrate our victories with our loved one.

“Most importantly, get vaccinated (because) you being vaccinated can save a life,” said Raza. His sentiments were also echoed by national men’s rugby team captain, Mudariki.

“Covid-19 is real, it’s around us,” he said.

“I have decided to take the opportunity to get vaccinated as I want to continue playing the game that I love. It’s so important that you go out there and get vaccinated too.

“Don’t be scared, it’s safe,” said Mudariki.

The Sports Commission said in a statement they came up with the campaign, after realising sport was one of the most affected.

“The campaign is being rolled out under the #saveoursport, get your covid-19 jab today! The key message is that vaccination reduces the severity of the Covid-19 disease and the need for hospitalisation.

“Zimbabwe can achieve herd immunity if everyone gets vaccinated. Being vaccinated is the right thing to do in order to save families and communities.

“The “Save our Sport Campaign” is as a result for the need to achieve a sustainable solution towards the containment of the disease that has negatively impacted the sports and recreation sector.

“Encouraging the public to get vaccinated, in order to achieve herd immunity, raising awareness of the benefits of vaccination including the potential positive impact of a fully vaccinated community on sport and recreation and positioning the Sports and Recreation sector as a thought leader in the vaccination narrative in Zimbabwe, are the primary objectives for the campaign.”

The authorities also acknowledged that the business side of sport has suffered.

“Globally, the sports and recreation sector has lost billions in revenue, with sporting activities and events either being cancelled, or being played without spectators.

“In some instances, sporting activities have had to be conducted in a bio-secure bubble, which has increased the operational costs for games, and matches.

“The Zimbabwe sports and recreation sector has not been spared, with sporting activities and events being suspended, for the greater part of the year, in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.

“To this end, the SRC, in partnership with National Sport Associations, decided to raise awareness on the benefits of being vaccinated, using sports personalities, across different sport codes.

“So far, cricket, rugby, netball, football, basketball and many other national sport associations have come on board in support of this initiative.’’ said the Sports Commission.