Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
TWELVE budding footballers are set to benefit from the Hwange-based Ponel Youth Soccer Academy (PYSA) scholarship programme which will commence in the first school term next year.
The academy played host to a three-team tournament in Hwange a fortnight ago where the 12 players were selected for the scholarship.
Teams that took part were Makwika, Madumabisa and the Ponel Academy side. Five players were picked from Makwika with Madumabisa providing one and the remainder coming from Ponel Academy.
Ponel Academy director Nelson Ndeka said they hope to increase the number of scholarship beneficiaries with time.
“We will be paying fees for 12 promising players in the first term of 2022. We hosted a tournament where we picked the 12 players that we will be paying first team school fees for. We want to pay for more learners in future and help them achieve their life goals,” said Ndeka.
He said the academy was serious about tackling social ills by helping take young talented boys off the streets.
“The most important aspect of this project is to get young boys off the streets. There is a lot of talent in this province and projects like this one will help us tap into that talent. With the passion that the team l work with is showing, I am confident that we will be able to achieve our goals,” said Ndeka.
The academy wants to promote, teach and develop the game of football within the Dete community as well as provide quality programmes at the lowest possible cost to participants.
It also seeks to promote and inculcate the ideals of sportsmanship and principles of fair play in the young players.
At the beginning of this year, the academy engaged the Hwange Rural District Council seeking land to build a football village that will benefit budding talent in Matabeleland North and it’s still awaiting a response. — @innocentskizoe
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