Story by Gay Matambo
A new football academy has been established in Chiredzi as part of initiatives meant to identify and nurture young talent while providing a platform for them to develop skills.
Following the establishment of the Lowveld Football Academy, close to 100 budding players are being nurtured.
The youngsters are acquiring technical skills, tactics and physical conditioning, building a solid foundation for future use.
“This academy is good for us because, as a young lady, my dream is to take football as a full-time career when I grow up. Well, such initiatives distance thoughts of getting married early amongst us young girls and we appreciate that,” a female footballer said.
“I am 17 years old and being part of this academy as youths ensures that we do not have time for drug abuse and we are working on pursuing our dreams of playing for big teams in Zimbabwe. At the age of 23, my goal is to be an international footballer by then,” an aspirating footballer said
“I came back from South Africa where I was doing menial jobs there following the establishment of this academy in my home area. This is helping us a lot, and it will give us the exposure we need,” a football player said.
The founder of the academy, Archford Guvuriro, says they aim to make a great contribution to the development of local football.
“We have noticed that there is so much talent amongst young people in the Lowveld but there was no platform for them to showcase their talent hence we started this project to uplift these young people and so far 14 have joined the Division One football teams across the country and are now professional footballers. It’s a community development initiative,” Mr Guvuriro said.
The Lowveld Development Football Academy is set to undertake significant work in elevating junior football, becoming a symbol of excellence and opportunity for aspiring young players in the Lowveld.
