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Rashiwe Murisa Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE’s dream of participating in their maiden World Korfball Championships is hanging in the balance as the Zimbabwe Korfball Federation are struggling to raise the affiliation fee for the tournament. The senior korfball team booked their first berth for the quadrennial competition last year and they need to pay US$4 760 by close of business tomorrow to confirm their involvement.

The fiesta will be held in Durban, South Africa, in August but the team may fail to make it if the federation fails to settle the payment before the deadline.

Head of the Fundraising Committee for the World Championships, More Moyo, confirmed they were finding it difficult to raise the money for affiliation.

Although the team is guaranteed participation allowances after the tournament, no corporates have come forward to help the federation pay the affiliation fees as yet.

A team which fails to pay its affiliation fees will not be allowed to participate and possibly attract further sanctions from the International Korfball Federation.

Moyo said their committee has been running around to see to it that the team participates at the world fiesta but the responses have been poor.

“It’s definitely not looking very good for us. We are running around to try and raise the money needed for affiliation.
“We qualified for the World Cup for our very first time in history after working so hard. We are expected to do well at the tournament as the whole of Africa will only be represented by us and South Africa.

“It’s very sad to miss out on the opportunity to represent our country and use the platform to open new avenues for the growth of the sport in the country,” said Moyo.

“We have been running around to try and raise the money but we are stuck. The deadline for the payment is January 15 and failure to pay the affiliation means we are out. We are calling for the corporate world to chip in,” said Moyo.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe korfball national team coach Percy Samugadza has been invited to the Netherlands for the Level 3 coaching course from April 18 to 21 this year.