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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
THE few games he watched in the Castle Lager Premiership were enough for seasoned football administrator Tumeliso Mokoena Ndlovu to conclude that topflight players lack basic football techniques.
His experience is shared by many fans who have raised concern on the waning levels of the game this season.
Ndlovu is a former secretary-general of the Zifa Southern Region board that was led by veteran administrator Musa Mandaza.
It is agreeable within the football fraternity that at youth level, emphasis should be on basic techniques such as passing, ball control, shooting and dribbling. By the time the players join the topflight league they should tick all these boxes.
However, that is not the case at professional level locally as experts and coaches have complained about players’ lack of technical ability.
Ndlovu reckons such can be corrected by strengthening junior development structures.
Having been a founder of the much revered New West City FC, Ndlovu groomed players such as Highlanders’ Rahman Kutsanzira, former Bosso defender Tendai Ngulube, ex-players Warren Dube (How Mine) Zibusiso Sibanda (Harare City), Erico Phiri (Tsholotsho FC) and Blessing Mwandimutsira (Buffaloes FC).
Ndlovu has decided to go back to the basics by sponsoring an eight-team tournament that will draw teams from Lobengula, Njube and Emakhandeni suburbs.
The two-day tournament will be played on the first weekend of December.
Lobengula Rovers, Vitality, Njube Spurs, LMC, Lobengula Stars, Highflyers, Njube United, Emakhandeni will battle in male division while Lobengula City Queens and FMSA will be the women taking part in the competition.
“There are things that you can teach your players as a senior head coach and there are things that a player should have learnt from a young age, which is difficult to teach when he is already in his late twenties,” he said.
“So you will realise a team has 80 players and the team has no cons and just a few balls. So at the end of the day we are not producing quality players. “For that reason we have decided to have this competition meant to equip the teams first.
“Their ticket into next year’s tournament will be producing the equipment we have given them in whatever state it will be in because we expect the clubs to be responsible,” said Ndlovu. – @innocentskizoe
Online Reporter