Through the Volunteer Zambia project, the principal focus of the Wallace Group is to support the work of Sport in Action in the area of sport development, primarily the partnership between Sport in Action, the National Sports Council and Sports Federations who are developing a network of sustainable community sport hub sites across Zambia.
Community Hub Sites
Increasing Capacity – Developing Leaders – Engaging Communities – Making an Impact
Run in the community, by the community, for the community, the aim is to establish sustainable programmes that widen the impact of sport, but also provide pathways for young Zambians to enrich their lives through participation, leadership, and education.
Hub Sites are located, owned, and managed by the community in which they serve, ensuring the right people are empowered to facilitate their continuous development. They are run by a Hub Site Coordinator and managed by a leadership committee, formed from a group of committed individuals from the community who have shown an interest in the initiative.
These are often teachers, coaches, and guardians who are already contributing directly through a group participating at the hub site, and who wish for greater involvement.
The Hub Site Coordinator oversees all activity within the hub site and is supported by a leadership team who help with the running and progress of the hub.
Members of the committee have their own individual areas of responsibility, which provide a pathway for people to develop their skills as leaders, coaches, officials or managers.
Collectively they come together to ensure effective delivery of a programme that is tailored for their community. Each member of the team has to be accountable to and for each other for success; ensuring sport is now sustainable in these communities.
Hub sites provide regular training and friendly competitive sport to high numbers of children at grassroots level all year round. Frequent league games and tournaments are organised across the different hub sites and these events provide a great platform for widening relationships between participants and across communities.
The hub sites act as a feeder into the Community Youth League (Netball) and Youth Basketball League, with the best players, coaches, umpires, and competition managers filtering into this level of the sport.
The hubs have been established in communities where these leagues already have a presence, ensuring a direct link and a relationship that is progressive and developmental.
Sitting above this level is the ZBA and Senior Netball League, providing senior elite performance sport from which the Zambian national teams are selected.
Sport Development Pathways
The partnership with the National Associations and National Federations has created a pathway for players, coaches and other sport related roles.
The hub sites are the entry point at grassroots level, introducing a high volume of children to sport, with a focus on fun and engagement.
The development of leadership roles within sport for young Zambians is also core to the hub site model, with players, coaches and site leaders supported through the relevant sports pathway (SIA Talent Teams, Community Youth League and Youth Basketball League).
The partnerships with the Associations and Federations has also enabled a much more complete opportunity for coaches to gain qualifications in their sport.
The structures and organisations sitting above the hubs have now been linked to embrace those who wish to progress further as players, coaches, administrators, for example. This helps children remain engaged and motivated, and equally the hub site facilitators.
Partnerships are key to the sustainability and development of sport in Zambia and help to provide greater opportunity for social change.
Sport Development
The hub site model was established through a partnership between Sport in Action and the National Federations and is now accepted as part of the sporting pathway in Zambia. A number of hub sites are now linked with the Netball Association of Zambia and the Midlands Basketball Association, with hopes to extend these partnerships in the future.
Sport for Development
The high volume of participants now engaging with sport through the hub sites has enabled Sport in Action and other local partners to reach and positively impact the lives of many more young Zambians through their educational programmes. Sport is now opening channels to the ‘hardest to reach’, helping Sport in Action to address relevant social issues and make a real difference to the lives of young people from within the communities the hub sites serve.
Community Sport Hub Site Tool Kit
The Community Sport Hub Tool Kit provides a step-by-step guide for communities and leaders looking to develop their very own sustainable hub site.
The tool kit has been created and implemented by Sport in Action in partnership with:
Current Community Hub Sites
The map below shows the network of Community Hub Sites currently operating across Zambia. Many are located in the capital Lusaka – use the controls on the map to zoom in to see these sites in more detail.
Implementing Hub-Sites in Cote d’Ivoire
Recently our International Sport Development Manager, Jack Preston, travelled to Cote d’Ivoire to officially orient 57 participants on what a Hub-Site is, how they can develop netball, how they can transform communities and lives, and how to actually create and implement their very own! The 57 participants came from across Cote d’Ivoire, with coaches and…
ACE 2 Zambia take action in Lusaka
A group of six Architecture and Engineering students from Bath University have landed in Lusaka, Zambia as part of 2023’s Volunteer Zambia cohort. ACE 2 Zambia aims to provide and renovate permanent sports facilities in Zambian communities. This is accessible via a strong relationship with Sport in Action. The group will be renovating the basketball…
Celebrating the success of Sport in Action’s National Hub Site Coordinator Monica Chidila
Born in Lusaka, Monica’s sporting journey is something special. From progressing as a coach to holding a senior position as a National Hub Site Coordinator, netball in Zambia would not be the same without her. Monica is a role model for others to follow and to inspire to, with her at the epicentre of netball…
#VZ2023 Communications team meet Zambian Netball President & Secretary ahead of this year’s Netball World Cup
Prior to this year’s eagerly anticipated Netball World Cup held in Cape Town South Africa our #VZ2023 volunteers Eloise Maraner and Telfer Gray discussed all things Zambian Netball with President Martha Sichone & Secretary Pritchard Ngoma. This enabled them the opportunity to gain an insight into the structures and governance of netball from the facilitation…
New National Hubsite Coordinator!
We have a new national hub-site coordinator! Monica started her journey with us as a coach at the Mtendere hub before becoming their competition manager. She then relocated to Jaunda Square to become the coordinator for her own hub-site. She is very glad and happy to have gained this position and to oversee all the…
Netball Coaching at Munali
What makes Munali so special is the sense of community and how all of the people there, both players and coaches, form one big family. It is such a fun site with netball, football, basketball and volleyball on offer; it is always buzzing with activity and filled with happiness and laughter. Netball training takes place…
Emily’s Experience at the Mtendere Netball Hub
During my time here in Zambia I have been placed at Mtendere netball hub, which has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Mtendere has been a hub site for over a year now and feels very well established. In my opinion Mtendere is an exemplary hub site. Each Monday they have a meeting in which all…
Kalingalinga Netball Hub
If you were to step on the dusty heartland of Kalingalinga’s sport pitches, you would see Zambian life in its element. To your left, the “Fritter Lady” greets you (or rather me, a very regular customer.) The far-side of the netball pitch, a shop and hustling busy residential lane. The young men on the neighbouring…
Football at the Fountain of Hope
Fountain of Hope is an orphanage based in Kamwala, Zambia. Fountain houses both boys and girls and currently has approximately 120 children living on the premises. The orphanage itself is a small compound with a mixture of wooden and concrete buildings sitting opposite the newly refurbished basketball court. I was lucky enough to be allocated…
Volleyball in Munali
One of the sites where the Wallace group is active in Lusaka is Munali. The Munali site is surrounded by schools, making it a very busy site during school time, with lots children passing by, who often stop to chat to their friends or join sessions such as football, basketball, netball and volleyball which all…
A Day at Mtendere Football Site
In the distance players work together to carry the goal posts to the pitch. The dedication from the players shows how incredible the football community is here. Player by player, the number of people increases, you instantly feel excited and engaged because of the smiles and happiness of everyone around. Starting from under eights all…
Fountain of Hope, where no one can take your hope…
The first time walking through the gates of Fountain, I was greeted with an abundance of hugs and lots of smiling faces beaming up at me. What an amazing atmosphere this placement site has – a real family feel. Mirriam, Felicis and Steven, my peer leaders, introduced me to the group of girls I would…
2019 Kabawata Group 2, Dec and Abby
From the very first session that Abby and I attended, we were blown away by just how proud the Kabwata community were of their newly renovated playpark, and the welcome we received from Katambi and Agness our peer leaders was truly awesome. From Day 1, we knew we were onto a winner. Over our 6…
2019 VZ Group 3 Blog: Week 6
Volunteer Zambia… where to start, or more so, where to end. I write this final blog to finish off 4 months of volunteer work from 8 universities and 37 students who have put blood, sweat and some tears into trying to make a difference in a city and country trying to develop the next generation…
2019 VZ Group 3 Blog: Week 5
My volunteer Zambia journey is nearly complete and its safe to say I’m not ready to go home yet. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with my peer leader Miriam at the Chipata hub site alongside Aimee, another volunteer of the programme. Monday The first day of our fifth week started with a 5am to go…
2019 VZ Group 3 Blog: Week 4
As week 4 began, the schools returned from their break at Chipata. During the school holidays attendance was extremely high for the hub site, therefore Lucy, Mirriam and myself looked forward to this continuing throughout term time. During the holidays all girls from different schools were able to participate together in fun sessions along with…
2019 VZ Group 3 Blog: Week 3
After an exciting two weeks coaching here in Zambia and immersing ourselves in Zambian culture, it’s safe to say our small group of 9 have settled in really well. For the past two weeks, I have had three placements coaching netball at the Mutendere Hub, Kalingalinga Hub and the traditional site at Fountain of Hope.…
2019 VZ Group 3 Blog: Week 2
After our first week in Zambia it was time to start placement at our assigned hubs. I have been stationed at the Munali Hub, coaching and conducting outreach for Volleyball alongside Karolina, another volunteer. Coaching Volleyball at Munali On Monday, myself and Karolina made our way to the Munali district with the help of our…
Last hub-tournaments of the summer for Chipata and Mtendere
Chipata and Mtendere both saw their last Hub-Tournaments of the summer, with the aim of bringing girls together for Netball and life skills, while also saying farewell to their beloved Volunteer Zambia coaches. The well oiled machine, Mtendere hosted yet another great event. NOWSPAR also joined the event to deliver life skills sessions with a…
Football Association of Zambia and Sport in Action women’s football partnership
Earlier in the Summer the Football Association of Zambia announced a new partnership with Sport in Action and the Wallace Group, to introduce community leagues for women’s football. Through the highly successful hub-site programme, Sport in Action, with support from the Wallace Group, will coordinate community leagues for under-15 women’s football. In August FAZ General…
Netball Association of Zambia facilitates Level One Coaching Qualification
At the start of September the Netball Association of Zambia facilitated a Level One Coaching Qualification. The course focused on giving the young leaders in Netball of the future a stepping stone into coaching and leadership. The course saw 21 coaches gain their Level One Qualification. Of these, 18 had come from the Sport in…
Lusaka North Netball Hub Championships
The Northern Zone of our Netball Community Hubs hosted their first ever Hub Championships in August. The event was host by the Mandevu Hub-site at the Olympafrica Grounds. With 14 Teams in attendance and over 120 children participating during the school break, the event was quite a show. The semi-finals were fought out between a…
CommuniThr33 Opening Event
The CommuniThr33 Project is the new name of the Basketball Hub-Sites initiative in partnership with Sport in Action and the Midlands Basketball Association. This event marked a celebration of the partnership and the development of the four currently functioning basketball hub-sites (Kabwata, Munali, Kafue and Matero). Their development has come far enough to host a…
A big week for community hub-sites
This past week we had 4 Netball Community Hub-Site Tournaments taking place. The host communities for these events were; Matero, Chipata, Mtendere and Kalingalinga. With a combined total participation of over 400 girls under the age of 15, the community centres were bustling with, activity, noise, educational messages and Netball. First up was Matero. Last…
Netball hub site provides pathway to education for 17 young girls
The establishment of a netball hub site at Mtendere, through a partnership between Sport In Action, Zambia’s National Sports Federations and the Wallace Group, has provided an avenue for 17 vulnerable young girls from the local community to access free school education for the first time. Hub sites are central locations within a community where schools, teams,…
Community Hub-Sites come together for Netball Association of Zambia Open
On Saturday 23 March, our netball hubs from 7 communities across Lusaka descended upon the Olympic Youth Development Centre to declare the opening of the season in Zambia. The event saw over 300 hundred young participants from 18 teams and 7 hubs, and a plethora of leaders on hand to facilitate the event. The event saw…
