Story by Elroi Ngara
YOUNG footballers from a local football academy are relishing the chance of exposure on the international stage, with the team set to participate in a tournament in China next month.
It was all excitement at the Robert Mugabe International Airport as the boys from Jadel Football Academy departed for China with a target to defend the Hundred Cup, which they won last year.
“I am so excited to go to China to play football, and I want to thank Mr Walter for giving us a chance like this,
“I am so excited that I will be on a plane to China, and I want to be a professional footballer that will play for big teams.”
For Jadel Football Academy coaches, young talent exposure on the international stage is key for football development in the country.
“I am happy about the exposure. Our kids from Zimbabwe are getting it at such an early age. It’s our project. It is not for Jadel FA only. We are targeting the whole nation. That is why we have kids from as far as Mutare, whom we got through playing tournaments around the country,” noted coach Henry Garikai Mukangairwa.
Coach and former CAPS United player Stanford Mutizwa weighed in, “This academy is working towards a 2034 project. The vision is that by 2034, these guys will be ready to play for the national team or any other top teams in the world.”
This is the third time the academy will be taking part at the tournament as explained by Jadel Football Academy founder, Walter Ringers, “We are traveling for our third year; it is called the Hundred Cup tournament. We’re taking kids born in 2014, 2013, and 2012. It’s part of our junior development, and I’m glad we won the silverware last year, so we’re going to defend it.”
The tournament will run from the 8th to the 16th of August.
