By Julius Idriss Manganda, Own Correspondent
The new Zimbabwe Football Association board is committed to supporting junior football in the country , the association’s board member marketing and media Kudzai Kadzombe has said.
The ZIFA board member was speaking after witnessing the Chairman’s Cup dubbed the Highfield Area Zone Champions of 2024, a grassroots soccer development tournament in Highfield over the weekend where she was the guest of honour.
She assured participants at the tournament that the mother board ZIFA is always there for all affiliates and stands ready to support grassroots football.
“As ZIFA, we make sure we are there for all our affiliates, we are doing a top-to-bottom approach, making sure we are there at all the programs for our affiliates, whether area zones, at district, provincial, or national level, NAPH , NASH, FUTSAL Beach soccer, we should always be there, trying to understand the challenges they are facing and appreciating the efforts that have been done by the local leadership in the affiliates, this will help us as a board to make decisions informed by what we would have picked up from the grassroots ” said Kadzombe.
Kadzombe also took the stage to announce that ZIFA will be supporting girls’ football, ensuring that the girl child is not left out in tournaments like these.
On the pitch, there was immense talent on show as the youngsters took the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Cadship Stars Academy, popularly known as Nyerere emerged victorious in the tournament which featured the top 8 teams from the previous season.They defeated Calsberg 2-0 in the final.
The final match, played at the iconic Gwanzura Stadium, was a thrilling encounter that showcased the skills and talents of the young players. Nyerere’s Godwin Chari stole the show, scoring two goals, including a stunning individual effort that left the crowd in awe.The talent on display and proved that junior football in Zimbabwe has tactically and technically improved.
Highfield Area Zone (HAZ) Chairman, Prosper Kadewere, expressed his passion for football development, stating that ” as a ZIFA affiliate, our responsibility is to develop football, it is our mandate to develop players, as shown by the talent that we witnessed today.”
Godwin Chari, was named the player of the tournament and went home with a new pair of boots and shinpads, while David Tom emerged as the goalkeeper of the tournament and was awarded an accolade with a pair of gloves.
The theme for this year’s tournament “Removing Youngstars from Drugs,” highlighted the importance of using football as a way of keeping young players away from substance abuse.The tournament, which has been running for 8 consecutive years, is a development tournament aimed at promoting and talent identification in the Highfield Area Zone.