The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
ZIFA is looking for $240 000 to cover the costs of hosting the Cosafa Women’s Championships which is scheduled for Bulawayo next month.
Local Organising Committee (LOC) chairman Omega Sibanda said the funds will go towards meeting budgetary costs of the LOC. Sibanda, who is also Zifa vice-president, said their kitty is empty and are looking towards creating partnerships with local companies to raise the funds. He said while Cosafa will be meeting some of the expenses of hosting the tournament, Zifa has its own obligations to fulfill.
Sibanda appealed to companies to come on board and work with them to see the success of the tourney which will run from 13 to 24 September.
“We are appealing to companies to come on board and become our commercial partners to ensure the successful hosting of the games. We are also appealing to the Sports and Tourism ministries to assist us raise funds. Ye, Cosafa will meet some of the expenses but as Zifa we have our own budget and it is pegged at
$240 000,” he said.
Sibanda said Touchline Advertising will be up for grabs and television adverts. Cosafa secretary-general Sue Destombes told a Press briefing last Saturday that satellite broadcaster, Kwese Sports will televise the whole tournament live thus offering opportunities for companies to get mileage in return. She said live television exposure to companies that come on board will be immense and provide adequate returns on investment.
“I think it is not just about putting money into the tournament but there is value, exposure and opportunity for local entities in return through live television. The marketing reach for those brands that would come on board would be immense, it will not just be a handout to the LOC or Cosafa it is a win-win situation. In fact, the return on investment in most of our tourneys in both live broadcasts and other media has been a minimum of 10 to one,” said Destombes.
Countries set to take part in the competition include Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Swaziland, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya and the hosts Zimbabwe.
Destombes said the tourney was made possible with funding from the Fifa Forward programme, which has seen the international football body promoting the advancement of women football. She commended Zimbabwe for being one of the few countries to have a fully fledged women’s league in the region, adding that very few countries had managed to go that route.
