Women in football want change of indaba dates
Billiat exit to open door for Mahlambi to Sundowns?
ZIMBABWE Women’s Football has appealed to the Sport and Recreation Commission to consider changing dates for the proposed women in sports conference, as the set date clashes with the Cosafa Women’s Championship being staged in Bulawayo next month.
The workshop dubbed “Women in Sport Empowerment Conference” is targeting women involved in sport and recreation activities across the country and has been scheduled for September 15 in Harare, two days after the regional women’s football jamboree kicks off.
Zimbabwe Women’s Football vice-chairperson and member of the Cosafa Women’s Championship local organising committee Samukeliso Silengane said most women’s football administrators want to attend the conference, but will miss out since it clashes with the regional tourney.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and a number of us would want to attend, but because of the Cosafa tournament, we will be left out, so we are appealing to the organisers to either bring it forward or push it back after the tournament for us to also be part of the conference,” said Silengane.
“By bringing the conference dates forward, say before the Cosafa Championship, the organisers would have helped us a lot because we will use the Cosafa tournament as our practicals, doing what we would have been taught at this conference,” she said.
The conference is targeting women sports leaders from national sports associations, colleges, universities, uniformed services, the media, Government departments, parastatals, the business community and other sport and recreation delivery agents.
The Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhosini Hlongwane is expected to officially open the conference.
The objectives of the conference are to mentor women in a number of topical issues affecting women in sport and recreation; to create networking opportunities for women in sport and recreation; to afford women an opportunity to share experiences and learn from each other as well as to provide a platform to stimulate and sustain development for women through sport and recreation.
Topics to be covered during the conference include “Benefits of sport and recreation and narrowing the discriminatory gap for women” to be presented by Zimbabwe Olympic Committee chief executive officer Anna Mguni.
She will also present a paper on sport as a career, looking at opportunities and challenges for women.
Harare acting town clerk Josephine Ncube will present a paper on “Sport and legal issues”, while fitness guru Debbie Jeans will tackle the “Injury prevention in female athletes”.
Other speakers include Merit Mudziwemberi (Media best practices), Fortunate Sithole and Yvonne Utaumire (The role of psychology in sport) and Lilian Mbayiwa (Etiquette and grooming for women”.
“Contemporary social issues, their implications in sport and how to overcome them” is a topic that will be presented by Beauty Nyamwanza, former swimming sensation and Olympic gold medallist Kirsty Coventry will present a paper on “The power of storytelling, triumph, glory, and betrayal”.
“The speakers have been carefully chosen owing to their varied and rich background, which is uncontested and it is the view of the conference organising committee that this is a conference every women sport leader or practitioner should not miss”, said Titus Zvomuya, one of the organisers.
He said they were also informed by the latest trends in sport and as such they would want today’s woman to be versatile in all aspects of sport and recreation.
“Sport like any other aspect of life is changing rapidly, hence the clarion call to all ladies to keep pace with the ever changing world of sport. Being ignorant or behind cannot be an excuse, therefore we are urging all women to attend this important milestone in our sporting calendar.
“One of the advantages of this course over and above the rich content is that it will be certified by one of the reputable universities, Bindura University of Science Education, and it will add a credible feather to one’s sporting credentials”, said Zvomuya. — @ skhumoyo2000 MAMELODI Sundowns are keen on Phakamani Mahlambi, but the Brazilians will want to offload Khama Billiat if the Bafana Bafana international is brought on board.
Sources have informed Soccer Laduma that Sundowns, along with their African rivals Al Ahly, have shown an interest in Bidvest Wits’ Mahlambi, following his return from a training stint with Portuguese-outfit Vitoria Guimaraes.
Now with Downs linked to the player as the close of the transfer window approaches, it seems that a deal could happen, although it could affect Coach Pitso Mosimane’s current squad. According to the source, for the deal to happen, the club will need to offload Billiat.
Sundowns previously revealed on their official website that head coach Pitso Mosimane has resigned himself to being without the services of Billiat when the transfer window closes today, but the club is yet to confirm whether or not they have received any more offers for the Zimbabwean’s services.
The Brazilians were set to conclude two “big name” signings this transfer window. Thus, it remains to be seen whether Mahlambi will be making his way to the Chloorkop-based club and if a move away from Sundowns will materialise for Billiat in the coming hours. — Soccer Laduma.