Kirsty Coventry, Minister of Youth, Sports, Arts, and Recreation has been criticised for selecting an all-white senior women’s hockey squad to represent Zimbabwe at the Africa Cup of Nations in Accra, Ghana.
Inevitably, there was an uproar on social media. “An all-white team representing a black nation. Hockey is played in many schools. How was the selection made? The minister needs to be probed as I observed sports involving white people receive more money”, said a disgruntled mother whose daughter did not make the team. Another one added on Twitter “Kirsty Coventry must not take us back to Rhodesia. We need equal support for everyone in Zimbabwe”
Racism has long been an unpleasant reality in Zimbabwean sport, particularly in the traditional “white sports” that have also gained significant black participation.
June 2015, Zimbabwe cricketer Mark Vermeulen was banned from all cricket by Zimbabwe Cricket after it was revealed that he had participated in a racist outburst on social media during which he referred to black Zimbabweans as “apes”. Vermeulen made his comment on a Facebook discussion about racism in Zimbabwean cricket. Though he later erased the comment, a screenshot became public again, this time on social media.
Similarly, in 2015 the Zimbabwean rugby team appeared to be on course to qualify for the rugby World Cup in England until events took a dramatic turn.
In an internal email released to the public, team manager Losson Mtongwiza stated that a “strong white clique” inside Zimbabwe Rugby Union was excluding black administrators from critical decision-making positions. The team suffered as a result of the controversy, as they narrowly missed making the country’s first trip at the international competition in 22 years.
In 2002, Zimbabwean rugby was marred by controversy when former national team captain Victor Olonga led a player mutiny against the hiring of white coach Alex Nicholls, accusing him of being racist.
Nicholls, who represented Zimbabwe in the 1987 and 1991 World Cups, was forced to resign before ever starting the job.
These incidents in rugby and crickets highlight the extent to which race relations continue to be a problem in post-colonial Zimbabwe. There’s a reluctance to redress the inherited racial imbalance and change racial attitudes, particularly in the former “white sports”. Until racial attitudes change, and new policies are put in place, we can expect to see similar incidents.
Things would be different if the Zimbabwean government required sports governing bodies to develop race inclusion policies in order to increase diversity and promote best practices in all sports. This allows anyone to participate in sports that are not commonly practised in their community.
