Sports for youths will curb drug abuse

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By Nhau Mangirazi

KAROI – The government has been called upon to take all sports activities equally to curb drugs and substance abuse among youths.

Mashonaland West provincial volleyball tournament coordinator, Kudzi Muziti, made the call at the weekend in Karoi.

‘‘Our government must take volleyball like any other sport. Volleyball in most towns is not recognized as other sports like soccer, rugby, and tennis. The sport must start from the grassroots and develop as we fight drugs and substance abuse among youths,’’ said Muziti.

‘‘A majority of the young people who have been taking drugs and substance abuse don’t have anything to do during their pastime. We want them to be preoccupied with sports. It reduces chances of being drug addicts,’’ added Muziti.

He said young people take sports as both entertainment and job creation.

‘‘We look forward to seeing other government departments taking volleyball as any other sports for sponsorship,’’ added Muziti.

Muziti said that they look forward to carrying out volleyball activities in rural communities.

‘‘Generally volleyball is not funded by local authorities and the government at the moment. We need the sports recognized so that we fully fight drugs and substance abuse amongst the youth as a national campaign,’’ Muziti said.

Muziti said they face challenges in the sports field.

‘‘We are training at a golf club but it is not a hard surface court. Currently, we don’t have jerseys, balls, and nets,’’ added Muziti.

Seven teams participated in the tournament.

Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) Rebels topped the Mashonaland West provincial tournament held at the weekend.

Seven teams participated in the tournament held at Chikangwe High School sports field.

The teams were drawn from Chinhoyi, Norton, Musengezi, Banket, and host Karoi town.

CUT Rebels won all four games with a 12-point margin while CCC Jaguars from Norton won 2 games and lost 2 as well, getting 11 points and taking the second position.

Kangaroo from Chinhoyi were in third place.

Banket Bulls were the last on the log.