FRANCIS CHIPALO writes
THERE is need to motivate and empower women in sports to reduce on mens’ dominance, says Lusaka City Council (LLC) Looters women basketball team captain Michelle Mumbi.
Mumbi said there was too much concentration on men’s sporting activities, especially soccer in even when women were performing better than men in the same discipline.
Speaking to the Sun Sports yesterday shortly after her team came from behind to beat Nishati Shells 55-53 in a tightly contested week 24 fixture of the Midlands Basketball Association, Mumbi bemoaned lack of recognition of women in sports.
Mumbi said women in sports had for a long time being neglected by stakeholders despite putting Zambia on the world map.
She said a little appreciation would motivate women, especially the young ones in sports to continue working hard and produce more medals for Zambia.
“We are not here for fun but we are here because of the love we have for the sport despite so many frustrations and challenges yet we are recording positive results,” Mumbi said.
Mumbi who has been playing basketball since 2008 called on government and other stakeholders to start recognizing women in sports, adding that doing so would motivate female athletes to work extra hard.
She said women had proved beyond any reasonable doubt that they could perform better than men with a little support.
“And when we talk about appreciation, we are not talking about money but even just government presence when we are having our games is enough motivation,” she said
Mumbi further said women basketball had the potential to grow but presently lacked support.
Meanwhile, Mumbi, 24 and a University of Zambia (UNZA) public management graduate said she was planning to establish a basketball non-governmental organisation(NGO) to try get children off the streets.
