After the successful hosting of the first National Association of Primary School Heads (NAPH) provincial boys basketball games in Harare, the girls will now have their tournament in August.
The girls had been excluded from the NAPH games due to possible logistical issues which prompted the Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) to chip in with support for the girls.
The tournament is being made possible by International Basketball Federation (FIBA) under the ‘Her World Her Rules’ program.
BUZ Secretary General, Charmaine Chamboko told Zimbuzz Sports that the girls’ tournament will be meant to include the girls and nurture their love for the sport.
Said Chamboko, “The project will see the Basketball Union of Zimbabwe, in partnership with the National Association of Primary School Heads launch a primary school tournament for girls, with a pilot programme in Harare on 2 and 3 August 2022.
“The project will commence with the training of the school teachers as basketball coaches in a train the trainer manner, giving us qualified personnel to assist with the implementation of this programme.”
Apart from the children, senior teams will play an exhibition game to showcase to the girls how basketball is also played by adults.
The seven districts in Harare will compete in the tournament hosted by Alfred Beit School.
“The competition will have 7 teams, one from each of the districts in Harare. This tournament will feature an exhibition game from the women’s senior teams as a way of showing that females can continue to play basketball even after their school years.
“Players will be exposed to various levels of playing and officiating skills during the competition period,” said Chamboko.
The original plan was to host a league for the girls doing away with the tournament system but due to the late approval of sports by the government, the plan has been put on hold.
Chamboko said, “The main purpose is to, eventually, create a fun league for girls in primary schools to participate in as they learn about the game of basketball and also gain some important life skills.
“We want to create a pool of interested players who will continue learning and playing into their secondary and tertiary education and ultimately have quality players feeding into the junior and national teams.”
The programme is set to start on August 1 with the training of coaches then the games will be played on 2 and 3 August.
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