Online Reporter
Takudzwa Chitsiga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE first edition of the Betterbrands National Under-20 Soccer Cup final tournament at Allan Wilson and Prince Edward has gotten off to a flying start.
The four-day tournament, which started on Sunday, saw 20 teams taking part in a round robin format.
The country’s 10 provinces provided two teams each.
NASH head in charge for soccer, Ropafadzo Matemavi, said the tournament has progressed well, with the support of Government.
“We are happy to be hosting the inaugural Betterbrands Under-20 Soccer Cup, which has 20 teams taking part.
“The tournament started from the zonal games, and we are pleased to have such a big tournament for both primary and secondary schools.
“The primary schools are competing in the Under-15, while secondary schools are battling it out in the Under-20.
“There are 20 teams from 10 provinces, and they played their games at the zonal, district, and provincial level.
“This tournament is the first of its kind for NASH.
“We normally have 10 teams from the 10 provinces, but because of the support and sponsorship package, we increased the number of participants.
“We want to thank our Minister, our ministry and our partners, Betterbrands, who brokered this partnership.
“The sponsorship was organised by the Minister after he realised that we are playing most of our activities and games in NASH without sponsorship,” said Mutemavi.
Francisca Buluwati, the Betterbrands marketing officer, said they are looking forward to holding the tournament annually.
Apart from promoting grassroots football, the tournament is also an opportunity for clubs, including Scottland FC, to scout for talent.
“Betterbrands, as the parent company for Scotland Football Cup, supports this cup, which provides a platform to scout for talent in Zimbabwe.
“We don’t want to keep on looking for talent outside the country, so we are starting from the grassroots.
“In order for us to have quality teams up there in the future, we decided to support efforts to look at the kids and get talent from there.
“The tournament will be a platform to scout talent, which will be groomed until they are able to play for the national team or even for our Scotland team.
“And also there is employment creation in football. So we are looking at employment creation through sport.
“We are also looking at fighting drug abuse among youths, and this is part of a campaign that is already going on in the country,” said Buluwati.
The tournament has also been supported by Zimgold, Kefalos and Betman, who have come on as partners to the main sponsor.
