Mujuru speaks on Super Eight League

Sport
THE BASKETBALL Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) will conduct a trial run for the proposed basketball national league which they are planning to have later this year

THE BASKETBALL Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) will conduct a trial run for the proposed basketball national league which they are planning to have later this year. SUKOLUHLE MTHETHWA SPORTS REPORTER

BUZ secretary Joe Mujuru confirmed the development to Southern Eye Sport.

“We are planning to start a pilot project for the proposed national league from February 7. We are going to call it Super Eight League and we will run it over three months. We are going to have 16 teams from both the men and the women’s categories. We selected them on the basis of how they were seeded at the end of the national championships that were held in Bulawayo last year,” he said.

Mujuru said they intend to start the actual league in September.

“We have decided to have the national league because we feel that is the way we can market our brand. Sponsorship is a big problem, but we feel it can come through if we have national league. We will use the pilot project to see if clubs have the required executive structure set-ups. This is very necessary for every team that wants to play at a national level,” he said.

Teams expected to take part in the pilot project in the men’s section will be Cameo, JBC, Raiders, Cheetahs (all Harare), Mercenaries (Mutare), Unicorns (Gweru) as well as Southern Mavericks and Highlanders from Bulawayo.

The women’s teams will be JBC, Greenstars, Raiders, Real Returnees, Vixens (all Harare) while Bulawayo teams expected to take part in the league are Highlanders, Lakers and Southern Mavericks.

Mujuru said the league will start in Harare and then proceed to Gweru, Bulawayo and then Mutare. He said they felt it was necessary for them to have a national league since most sporting disciplines in the country had established national leagues.