Zimbabwe’s national teams and their doctors are prepared for the bumps and bruises that the next season may bring following a recent refresher course on sports medicine given by sports medicine expert Myles Gibson of Fifa, the world soccer body.
Besides sports medicine as such, the program covered anti-doping measures and emergency responses to incidents involving crowds at sporting events.
Dr. Edward Chagonda, chairman of the Zimbabwe Football Association’s sports medicine committee, told reporter Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that FIFA was so impressed with the response in Harare that it now plans to expand the program to other countries in the Southern African Region.
Elsewhere, the Zifa Unity Cup received a sponsorship worth Z$1 million (US$4,000) in the form of mineral water and medicines for the Cup's semi-final matches Sunday at Rufaro Stadium, Harare and and Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo.