MARONDERA- Lack of sponsorship remains a major challenge for the Marondera District Pool
Association (MDPA), the league’s chairman Laxon Zimene has said.
The league is made up of Marondera East and West Diamond sub-leagues with 12 and 11 teams
respectively.
Zimene highlighted to Chaminuka Sport some of the challenges that the league has faced especially
that of lack of corporate sponsorship.
The MDPA boss said: “Lack of sponsorship makes it hard to run the sport efficiently. However, we
have focused on building an attractive and competitive brand which is now ripe for corporate
baking. We had our inaugural MDPA Cup which was bankrolled by T&C from Macheke and it is our
hope that more companies will back us next season.
“Most teams in our league are self-sponsored and this has proved to be a nightmare. Unfortunately,
one of our teams, Patsime, folded mid-season and the demise of that club is attributable to a lack of
sponsorship. We are planning to have trainings for clubs’ leaders on what strategies they can make
use of to run their clubs profitably so that they can attract sponsorships.
“The other challenge that we faced was having to strictly adhere to COVID-19 protocols during
matches and initially, this proved to be a hindrance to the flow of the league. However, we were
assisted on this one by the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) and at the same time, we
always urged all players and administrators to be vaccinated.”
Zimene applauded clubs for their commitment and instilling discipline within their rank and file as
this helped to uplift the playing standards in the league.
He said: “We witnessed very few cases of indiscipline this season as compared to seasons gone by.
Part of this can be attributed to the high level of umpiring as a result of regular clinics undertaken.
Having said that, there is still room for improvement and we will organise more trainings for our
umpires as well as administrators and players.
“The high level of commitment and participation by the teams in the league can never be over
emphasised. New teams were particularly focused and exciting. We were able to start a weekly
tournament which is held every Sunday which is open to all.
“We also introduced the Masters, Ladies and Super 16 tournaments and we will soon introduce an
Under 23 tournament. The introduction of the MDPA Cup which was open to all clubs was a game-
changer and the association will build on its success next season.”
According to Zimene, they managed to introduce leagues in other districts and hopes that
Mashonaland East province will be in a position to unleash the best pool players to the world.
“Generally, 2022 has been eventful. We hope to have national champions as we continue to tap and
harness talent in Marondera and Mashonaland East as a whole. It is pleasing to note that we
managed to start leagues in Mutoko, Murehwa and Hwedza districts. Next year, we will focus on the
remaining districts in the province so that cue sport is well organised, played and appreciated,” he
added.
