Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THIRTY junior footballers from Auckland Academy are scheduled to get a chance to showcase their talent in Zambia next month.
Scheduled to run between August 27 and 31, the tour will see boys and girls teams from the Under-8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 age groups playing at least three matches each. The tour will be a major sporting festival for the two nations’ grassroots football, with at least four teams meant to converge and share football skills.
Auckland Academy director Jerrymike Gumbo said the tour is meant to provide a perfect platform for the young players to learn and advance their knowledge in the game.
“This is the first time that we are taking part in an international tour and we are thrilled with the opportunity, which I believe will play a key role in our players’ development,” he said.
“Such an opportunity will also provide a platform for us as an academy and the technical team to learn from our neighbours and also see how they do business.
“For us, this is an exposure tour; we want to go and get the feel of it and learn as much as we can. Also, it will motivate our kids in many ways.”
The Bindura based academy was formed in 2016, and it draws some of its players from SOS Children’s Home and rural Bindura.
Auckland churned out a number of players who went on to make an impact on the top-flight league, including Mighty Warriors players Mavis Chirandu and Barbara Soko.
Rumbidzai Zhoya, who plays for Shedza Women’s side, Brandon Garufu of Nust University, and Klebberson Mutemaringa from Trojan Stars are some of the names from the academy, currently playing in the lower leagues.
Gumbo said their travel preparations are on course, although the academy is still mobilising funds to ensure a flaw-less trip.
“Part of our long-term plan is to develop into one of the country’s main feeder channels into national teams,” said Gumbo.
Added Gumbo: “We are also aiming to exchange notes on what we need to do as a grassroots development entity and how to properly invest in a big way, this is a key tour.
“Sport transcends cultures and languages, so we will get the chance to experience and learn all that.
“They have teams coming from all over Zambia, and the common factor is precisely football and then life in general for our young girls and boys.
“While we compete for silverware, we also need to make our teams understand that it is not entirely about winning but learning and pure sportsmanship, where football has to win in the end.”
