The Standard

Sport
The Standard September 14 to 20 2014 29
Boxing control
board statutes
archaic
NatioNal Boxing Control Board shall not
“register any person as a boxer or a wrestler
who is not of the male sex.”
World Boxing Council International and All Africa welterweight champion Charles Manyuchi (centre).
By Michael Kariati
The Zimbabwe National
Boxing and Wrestling Control
Board is living in the
past with an archaic act that does
not recognise females as professional
boxers.
The law was enacted in 1956
and has not been amended
since then. Chapter 8 section
(11) of the Zimbabwe National
Boxing and Wrestling Act says
that the Zimbabwe National
Boxing Control Board shall not
“register any person as a boxer
or a wrestler who is not of the
male sex.”
Standardsport has a copy of
the act which does not in any way
refer to females in any of its contents
as outlined by the power of
registration.
“The board is empowered to issue
certificates of registration
authorising any person who has
been registered as a boxer or
wrestler to take part in tournaments
in the capacity in which
he has been so registered,” reads
the act.
The vice-president of the Zimbabwe
National Boxing and
Wrestling Control Board Lorraine
Muringi says they have
taken note of the anomaly and
have highlighted the issue with
the ministry of sport that it can
be tabled with the relevant parliamentary
committee for a
change of wording to include female
boxers.
“We have sought advice from
the ministry of sport on how best
we can handle the matter. The issue
will be forwarded to parliament,”
said Muringi.
A legal practitioner said although
the gender discrimination
aspect of the act has fallen
away due to the changes in the
constitution, amendment to the
act needed to be effected by parliament.
“There are certain things that
from the outset look very simple
and easy. But changing the wording
of the act to include female
boxers would need a parliamentary
sitting,” said the legal practitioner.
efforts to get clarification from
the chairman of the Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on education,
Art, Sport, and Culture,
Themba Mliswa, were unsuccessful
as his mobile phone was constantly
not reachable.
Muringi said she was shocked
that the situation had been allowed
to continue like that 34
years after Zimbabwe was admitted
to international sport. She
said despite the act, they had con-
Current boxing board boss Paul Nenjerama
tinued to register female boxers
as they inherited the registration
process from the Richard hondo
led board that had been in office
from 1980 to 2012.
Although there have been limited
female boxing tournaments
in the country, fighters such as
Monalisa Sibanda and Patience
Masitara have become regular
fighters outside the country after
getting clearance from the boxing
controlling board.
In fact, Sibanda went to the extent
of challenging for the world
title but fell short after she was
knocked out in the sixth round
by Zambia’s esther Phiri after
she challenged the latter for her
World International Boxing Association
and World Boxing Organisation
light welterweight titles in
2012.
Although female boxers have
not been very successful on the
international scene, Zimbabwean
boxing in general has had its
fair share of success. Zimbabwe
has a World Boxing Council International
and All Africa welterweight
champion in the form of
Charles Manyuchi.
Gweru-based Langton “Schoolboy”
Tinago won three Commonwealth
titles at three different
weight divisions in the 80s and
was followed by Arifonso Zvenyika
who also won the Commonwealth
flyweight title in 1998.
Prior to that, Zimbabwe had
two All Africa champions in the
form of the late Proud “Kilimanjaro”
Chinembiri in the heavyweight
category and Stix McLoud
in the bantamweight division.
Pamushana High School launches soccer academy
By NyaMBira chivasa
PAMuShANA high School has
scored yet another first by launching
the first ever soccer academy
in Masvingo province.
The school is known for its academic
excellence as well as for excelling
in sporting activities.
The establishment of the soccer
academy came as a result of continued
calls by former students — some
of whom have become renowned
footballers — who believed coming
up with an academy was the only
way to tap and nurture raw talent
that is in abundance in the province.
“Coming up with a football academy
at the school is the way to go.
Funds realised from the academy
will be used to develop soccer at the
school, in the province and the entire
country,” said Gabriel Nyoni,
highlanders Football Club striker,
a former Pamushana high School
student.
Recently, Masvingo province
Youth Games select football team
won gold, beating Bulawayo province
at the 12th edition of the national
event held at Mucheke.
Team Masvingo was under the
It all started at Pamushana High School . . . Highlanders striker Gabriel Nyoni
guidance of Bernard Matenga of
Pamushana high School while former
Warriors gunslinger Agent
sawu guided the Bulawayo province
to the finals as well.
In a statement, the school lamented
that although they had moulded
a number of players into premiership
material and helped them secure
football careers, the school had
benefitted nothing in spite of investing
so much in developing talent.
“A number of families have benefitted
extremely as soon as their
Dream coming true . . . Johnson Madhuku
children moved to greener pastures
as they got development fees whenever
a player joined any club while
the school gets nothing from those
deals.
“The school continues to pump
out a lot in this regard to other upcoming
star players,” reads part of
the release.
however, the school has moved a
step further in fulfilling Pamushana
high School headmaster Johnson
Madhuku’s dream of building
a modern multi-purpose sporting
arena at the school. A begging bowl
is already in circulation to raise
funds for the project.
“It is our vision that any benefits,
should they come our way, should
assist the school in the development
of talent for other youths. We
also intend to build a stadium that
meets modern and acceptable football
standards. For all this to be
possible, we need money,” the statement
says.
The school envisages a situation
whereby they would join Division
One as a school and get promoted
into the Premier League.
The Reformed Church in Zimbabwe
establishment also envisaged
being twined with other schools,
soccer academies and clubs abroad
to further develop talent.
The academy is registered with
Zifa. Its establishment came after
realising that the school had
churned out quite a number of soccer
giants into the Zimbabwe Premier
League, the likes of Artwell
Mukandi, hasmania Ziso, Takudzwa
Mahori, Simba Sithole and Gabriel
Nyoni, to name just a few.