Why we should all be cheering the Zimbabwean netball team!

Like all Zimbabweans all over the world l have been utterly glued to my screen relishing the triumph being generated by the Zimbabwe netball team on their debut in the netball world cup.

As the world watched the Zimbabwe netball team rise to stardom most were not aware of the journey that these ladies had taken to be where they are today. As they participate in the Olympics the Zimbabwean community is fraught with rumours about the tough time, that these ladies are experiencing, since they arrived in the UK.

 l learned about the Zimbabwean netball team making it to the world cup, when a Zimbabwe tabloid aired a story alleging that the newly arrived team had been chucked out of their hotel in Liverpool UK!  Left stranded in a youth hostel without food due to lack of funds. Eventually getting rehoused in a hotel after protesting but still going without lunch at times even as they competed in the Olympics.

 The Zimbabwean community in the diaspora then rallied around to support the struggling team by donating funds to help the team.  Allegedly those same funds got diverted to the politicians who needed the money to pay for their own air fare to come and watch the starving team. The team who are representing the country in the Olympics without receiving any allowances!  When the president of the Zimbabwe netball team was asked to account for the funds provided, she responded by telling the journalist to go to hell!

Despite all this the Zimbabwean girls stormed onto the Marks and Spencer Bank Arena in Liverpool and everyone was astounded by their performance.  They are set to make it to the top 10 based on how they are performing currently.

I love how they have accumulated lots of fans from all the four corners of the world!  l feel so proud to be affiliated with the Zimbabwean team. Success feels good, it’s attractive! Everyone aspires to be associated with a favourable outcome. The Zimbabwean netball team have given the community a glimmer of hope, in the midst of challenging times.

I couldn’t help but reflect on this. Although everybody is celebrating Zimbabwe’s success now. I believe that their journey to success started long before everyone knew about their existence.  25 years ago, to be precise, they have been training for that long according to the coach. Victory started  the day they made a decision to follow a strict  training routine to make themselves fit. What we are observing now is the result of the discipline they had to enforce on themselves when no one was watching.  It is about how they used their time to take them from ordinary individuals to Olympic sensations overnight! They utilised time effectively such that it made them win over experienced teams who have been participating in the Olympics for years. All these unwavering success attributes turned them to superstars overnight!