Kimberly Kusauka
Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) youths have introduced a Devolution Cup tournament in Masvingo province comprising of various disciplines like wheelchair tennis, basketball, netball, and tennis.
The inaugural tournament was held at St Don Bosco Primary School in Mucheke on November 6, 2021, where the churches engaged in sporting activities to bring social cohesion and community participation in devolution projects.
ZHOCD Coordinator Pastor Admire Mupwanyiwa said the tournament is the beginning of brighter days for Masvingo youths and pointed out that the next round for teams that did not get time to play on November 6, would be played for November 13.
“This is the first game and we will have the second game this Saturday before the final. We took participants from the Catholic Commission of Justice and Peace (CCJP), Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC), Union for Development of Apostolic and Zionist Churches in Zimbabwe, Africa (UDAVIZA) and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
“We have soccer, tennis, netball, basketball, and wheelchair tennis players of which some teams have already played, while the remaining will play this Saturday.
“As ZHOCD we are having church bodies coming together under a theme called Strengthening the role of the church in social cohesion and civic participation in devolution and developmental processes,” said Mupwanyiwa.
He said the tournament is a form of an awareness campaign against drug abuse, child marriages and increased crime rates among youths.
“This tournament is meant to raise awareness against child marriages, drug abuse and increased crime rates among youths.
“We are hoping that these games will open doors for sponsorship since we are using funds from our own pockets,” said Mupwanyiwa.
Technical Officer for ZHOCD Cup Tournament who is also Masvingo provincial chairperson for Wheelchair Tennis Association Moses Chitombo said the tournament is awarding youths an opportunity to display their talents.
“We are happy with this tourney because it allows our youths to showcase their talents in different disciplines which include wheelchair tennis and netball,” said Chitombo.
Sportsperson Reverend Elias Murairwa said they are launching the devolution cup in sports through the tournament and he has already identified the best players whom he is going to select to be in the provincial team.
“We have launched the devolution programme in sports and we have high hopes that this tournament will take us far. When I was moving around observing different disciplines, I managed to pick the best players who will form the core of our provincial team,” said Murairwa.
The next game will be played on November 13 at St Don Bosco Primary School.
