BIG DAY FOR FIFA SCHOOLS PROGRAMME

Don Makanyanga

Sports Reporter

AT least 1 000 schools from across the country are set to benefit from the FIFA Football for Schools programme set to be launched today in Harare.

The FIFA Football for Schools (F4S) programme will be launched at Prince Edward High School by the programmes manager Antonio Buenano Sanchez.

The F4S is a mass participation programme meant to contribute to education, development, and empowerment of boys and girls across the globe reaching all 211 FIFA Member Associations.

It is run by FIFA, in collaboration with UNESCO.

It targets 700 million children.

Zimbabwe FIFA Forward manager, Kudzai Chitima, told Zimpapers Sports, a total of 1 000 schools from across the country are set to benefit.

“We are excited to be launching the FIFA Football for Schools programme in the country through the programme’s manager, Sanchez.

“It is a programme which targets the 4-14 age group and a total of 1 000 schools from across the country will benefit from the programme,” said Chitima.

He added:

“We have held a train the trainer course which had representatives from all of the country’s 10 provinces and we are confident that with the knowledge being passed, the future of Zimbabwe football will be secured through such a project.

“If you look at the strategy that the NC (Normarlisation Committee) has, they want to re-introduce and resuscitate grassroots football.

“We had the CAF Schools in November, which dealt with the U-15s and now the F4S which deals with the 4-14-yearolds so this is really about trying to work with grassroots which is the base for football development.

“If the base is stronger the house will be stronger, hence if we catch them young and increase participation and interest.”