Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Isdore Guvamombe
6 November 2009
opinion
Harare — STILL bustling in the glory of the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup win that sent Zimba-bweans from all walks of life celebrating with pomp, zest and funfair, the nation must start building its fortunes around soccer tourism too.
Yes, we have tried to build our tourism fortunes around the majestic Victoria Falls, the gothic Great Zimbabwe Ruins, the craggy Eastern Highlands, Hwange, Mana Pools and Matopos national parks, among other attractions but certainly we need to look at soccer tourism seriously.
The sweet but hard fought victory has given Zimbabwe another impetus ahead of the 2010 World Cup soccer finals in neighbouring South Africa.
The regional competition certainly boosted Zimbabwe's hosting capacity and surely, if the country could host all those teams for Cosafa, how can we fail to host a single team for the World Cup finals?
Having lost the ticket to play in the finals ourselves, the only benefit left is not the grand cup but soccer tourism.
The boys gifted with fancy footwork will descend on the motherland early next year in droves and drives and indeed in planes to play football.
These boys will be supported by huge staff complements, fans and their families who will not only watch football on the pitches but would want to see what nature has bestowed on this region.
Soccer has become big business in the world, and soccer players are now big time investors and we should make these boys and everyone who will follow them up see that there are investment opportunities outside the soccer fields.
We want them to see that Zimbabwe is a big regional football house and that Zimbabweans are good people worth visiting. Some of these soccer players born and bred in Europe have not seen live animals roam wild and free and must test our jungles.
Let us as a country capitalise on the contacts we have made and the experience we have had in handling Cosafa to host at least one team for the soccer finals.
All the teams that participated must be our ambassadors. All the players and supporting staff must be our ambassadors and we should capitalise on their contacts for our good name. Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi and the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority boss Karikoga Kaseke have given the triumphant Warriors a holiday in Singapore and Malaysia.
That is a good gesture from which the nation can start building on soccer tourism.
Soccer teams in this great country and those playing abroad should campaign for our goodwill and have their friends visit Zimbabwe.
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