Illegal poaching in the national parks costs the lives of numerous rhinos and elephants in Zimbabwe. The “Rhino Cup Champions League” shows amazing success – the football league is committed to the protection of species.
Kathrin Ehrke’s suitcases are packed again – the 44-year-old is always ready somehow. For the next assignment in Zimbabwe. In March we are heading back to the south-east of the African continent: the second season of the “Rhino Cup Champions League” starts – a football league dedicated to the fight against illegal poaching. “You mustn’t give up”says the woman from Hamburg. “The new season starts. We want to show that football can play a very important role in protecting species in the region”according to Ehrke.
No poaching during football season
At the beginning of December, the first season of the “Rhino Cup Champions League” ended around Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. 20 teams took part. Around 400 young men fought for goals, points and the championship with tremendous ambition and commitment for ten months.
As the game wardens around the participating rural towns of Mabale, Dete, Lupote and Silewu were quite astonished to register: illegal poaching had decreased significantly in the region. “We have not recorded a single incident of elephant or rhino poaching in the region this year,” reported Brighton Joroma, Manager of the Zimbabwean National Parks Authority, at the season-ending event last December.
Poaching in Zimbabwe affects not only rhinos and elephants, which make lucrative prey because of their horns and tusks, but also smaller antelopes and buffalo. They are not hunted for the world market, but for the domestic cooking pot. The corona pandemic has exacerbated the problem over the past two years – the few jobs that existed mostly came from tourism. And that came to an almost complete standstill in Zimbabwe during the corona pandemic.
Fiercely angry poaching in the past ten years
The commercial international trade in rhino derivatives has been banned for all species since 1977. Although the legislation is clear, the black market for rhino horn products continues to thrive. A particularly endangered species in Zimbabwe is the white rhino, which was nearly extinct in the early 20th century. Rhinos are poached for their horns. It is still considered by many people today as a medicinal remedy and a prestigious luxury product. It is said to have medicinal miracle effects.
There have also been reports of success in the past: with painstaking nature conservation work, the number of animals rose from almost 1,000 in the 1980s and 1990s to 21,000 across Africa. But poaching, which has been rampant for more than a decade, is gradually undoing this hard-won success. In 2017, just over 18,000 white rhinos were counted – a loss of 15 percent. In 2021 there were only less than 16,000. The population of white rhinos across Africa is currently declining by three percent annually due to poaching. At least 2,707 rhinos were lost to poaching in total from 2017 to 2021, according to statistics from the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF).
Harsh punishments hardly helped
The US aid organization “Wild and Free Foundation” had already started anti-poaching projects in Mozambique and Namibia, which are also affected by illegal poaching, in 2019. In Kathrin Ehrke, the organization soon found someone who was looking for a project like this for Zimbabwe. Ehrke, who once carried out a research project after studying tourism in Zimbabwe, was repeatedly confronted with the problem of poaching.
An enormously high unemployment rate and prospects of poverty, especially among young men, were mostly the cause. “For many young people around the national parks, illegally captured tusks from elephants and rhinos were often the only source of income,” she learned.
Hard penalties and increased controls hardly helped. “The aim was to create alternative sources of income and, above all, meaningful tasks for people”, recognized Ehrke. The experiences of the “Wild and Free Foundation” have confirmed that these could lie in football. In neighboring Mozambique, the first football tournament was organized in 2019, which brought many dozens of young men not only to the football field, but also to wages, bread and meaningful jobs. With the help of donations, employees could be paid to help organize tournaments, drive buses or referee games.
Balls, jerseys, corner flags – by container to Africa
What worked in Mozambique, Ehrke also wanted to do in Zimbabwe. She – well connected in the German football fan scene as a committed fan of Hamburger SV – began collecting material at home. With enormous success. After countless months of cleaning doors and fighting with various customs authorities, she was able to send a container to southern Africa at the beginning of 2022 with a delay of almost two years – the corona pandemic had also hit the original schedule hard here – which was quite a challenge.
Around 600 balls, 20 new and 100 used jersey sets, referee uniforms, corner flags and all sorts of other football equipment from the pool of German professional and amateur clubs and private individuals landed in Zimbabwe in February. “It was a mammoth project that was repeatedly delayed due to the corona pandemic. In the end, however, the container was at sea after an incredible amount of bureaucracy. And landed at its destination.”, reports Ehrke. Which is particularly proud of one detail: “I’ve never paid a cent in a bribe anywhere!”
“Sparrows” vs. “Honey Badgers”
The “Rhino Cup Champions League” in Zimbabwe could begin. Teams like the “Chezhou Zebras”, who eventually won the championship, faced the “Sparrows” or the “Honey Badgers” – all teams were named after animals. The animal protection initiative was a constant topic during the weeks and months of the league. “The people involved identified incredibly quickly with the purpose of the event,” reports Ehrke. “They were proud of their animal names and were incredibly committed to activities that we initiated in addition to the 17 football pitches in the region.”
In the end, not only did the football winners win trophies, but also those who were particularly active in rubbish collection campaigns or removing animal snares in the park. A relationship of trust developed between players and rangers – they work hand in hand in removing traps.
Referee salary as school fees
And prospects are developing for entire families. “A woman whose husband got a job as a referee in our league recently wrote to me that she was able to use her husband’s earnings to pay for their children’s tuition.”reports Ehrke.
After the first successful season, the second season is now upon us. The program is already being expanded. Six women’s teams and two youth teams have already registered in addition to the 20 men’s teams. “The more people on the edge of nature reserves are involved in wildlife protection, the better the future opportunities for wild animals.”Kathrin Ehrke is convinced.