Kimmie ready to take over
The new Limpopo Impala Cricket CEO, Feizal Kimmie, says he wants to take the level of cricket to greater heights and have the province compete in semi-pro cricket tournaments.
POLOKWANE – The new Limpopo Impala Cricket CEO, Feizal Kimmie, says he wants to take the level of cricket to greater heights and have the province compete in semi-pro cricket tournaments.
Kimmie, who is a former school teacher, has been involved in cricket all his life.
He served as a Cricket South Africa (CSA) assessor for level three candidates. He also rendered coaching road shows for CSA mini-cricket.
Kimmie then joined International Cricket Council (ICC) as the development officer in Africa, where he was responsible to oversee cricket developments in countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Namibia and Tanzania among others. His main duty at ICC was to put structures in place for all cricket developments in Africa.
“Limpopo has well talented cricket players and there is a big room for improvement. Players in the province are still playing rural cricket and my vision is to promote them to semi-pro class, where they will get a platform to showcase their talent. Limpopo was doing very well in cricket a few years ago and we want that back,” says Kimmie.
His vision is for Limpopo to compete at a professional level, to give players exposure and to promote the sport in rural areas.
He says his father taught him about humility in sport.
“Arrogance does not work in sport. One should learn to be humble to become the best player and leader because humble people are good listeners.
“We want to make a big difference in the cricket fraternity,” he says.
He says the union gets support from the Polokwane Municipality and the department of sport, arts and culture and hopes the relationship will continue for many years to come.
“Limpopo Impala is not only focused on cricket, but on changing people’s lives for the better. The sport of cricket is about people and can be used to motivate, groom and nurture people.”
Limpopo Impala has built a good cricket foundation in the province through mini-cricket and schools league programmes.
“Our focus is now on young people. Limpopo produces good players in various sporting codes, but we end up losing them to unions in other provinces. Players need to be compensated so they can feel appreciated and motivated to stay in the province.”
