eBusiness Weekly
Chipo Sabeta in LIVERPOOL, England
The senior netball goal defender, Adelaide Thandeka Muskwe, has admitted that besides being an athlete, she can’t stay away from her brother Admiral.
Admiral plays as a striker at Premier League side Leicester City and he was a recently snubbed in the AFCON Warriors squad by Sunday “Mhofu” Chidzambwa.
Born in Zimbabwe, the twins moved to England with their parents at the age of six. Both are athletes in their respective sport codes with Admiral eyeing a premier league debut this season while Adelaide turns up for Severn Stars, in the English Netball premier league.
Adelaide is part of the Gems making history at the ongoing Netball World Cup in Liverpool. She has played cameo roles for the Gems defensive roles, making her debut against New Zealand.
Adelaide’s family, her mother and father attends all matches. Admiral who was in camp with Leicester City had to squeeze from his busy schedule to watch the games.
“She is my number one fan. She has been supporting me since I was in school and I feel that I owe that support to her. We were out of the country but I had to compromise and watch one or two games before I return for work,“ he said.
Admiral added: “At times, she would come with my little brother to watch me training. It’s been like that and it keeps us going. Our parents are very supportive too.”
Adelaide revealed that it was melting to see his brother cheering him from the stands.
A student at Nottingham Trent University, Adelaide couldn’t hide her joy after seeing his twin brother.
“Its a different thing when he props me like this. I knew my family would be here but I didn’t think he was going to make it due to his pre-season schedule. It was tight for him but I am happy to see him,” she said.
Despite different sporting careers, Adelaide admitted that it’s difficult to be separated from his brother.
“ Football and netball are two different sport codes, but we have to find time for each other. It can be a movie date or hang out with friends. It’s difficult to stay separate for a long time despite our tight schooling and sports programmes,” she added.
Adelaide thanked the Zimbabwe Netball Association ( ZINA) for the recognition and the opportunity to play at the World Cup despite not participating in the qualifiers.
“For their trust in me and the effort to bring me here, I would like to thank the ZINA team. Everyone wants to play for his or her national team. I was so humbled to be called for camp in Zimbabwe and to make it into the final 12,” Adelaide said.
She believes Zimbabwe’s success story is team work.
“I believe in hard work but there is more to that with the Zimbabwean team. Players might have their differences but we play as a unit in the court. We play as a team and that’s our biggest strength. It’s easy to win when we play for each other and we have been doing so,” she said.
