Gonzalo Bravo and Cindy Lee, professors in the sport management program at West Virginia University, recently delivered a one-day continuing education workshop for sport administrators, teachers, and coaches in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The workshop, hosted by the Sport Leaders Institute of Zimbabwe (SLIZ) in partnership with the WVU School of Sport Sciences, brought together 35 sport professionals. Led by SLIZ President Maradza Mhiribidi, the event focused on how sport can be leveraged as a driver of economic and community development.
Bravo and Lee guided participants through key concepts, including sport tourism, infrastructure investment, and sponsorship valuation, along with a hands-on exercise evaluating sponsorship opportunities for a local youth soccer club.
The workshop, held at Old Hararians Sports Club in Harare, was featured on national television, highlighting efforts to further professionalize the sport industry in Zimbabwe. As part of the program, participants explored how to better understand and position sport as a business.
“We need to be able to value our product first before we start looking for sponsors,” said Maradza Mhiribidi.
Following the workshop, Bravo and Lee, along with Mhiribidi, traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, to participate in the 5th World Association for Sport Management conference, co-hosted by North-West University and Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
At the conference, the group presented their research, “Understanding Preferences in Sport Management Continuing Education: Evidence from Zimbabwe Using Conjoint Analysis.”