Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS chief executive officer Nhlanhla Dube says they will not disband their developmental side, Bosso 90, who have been a subject of debate in the past few years.
Some members have been calling for the developmental side’s disbandment, arguing that it serves no purpose since very few players have graduated into the senior team in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.
“The developmental side will not be done away with. It’s critical in the fact that the quota we get to register juniors is five, so we must have an opportunity to get those players from the development side. When youth football is given the green light, it will find us structurally ready. The coaching systems are being put in place as we speak,” said Dube.
“When a player is over the age of 18, they might not be ready to immediately get into the first team or go on loan so you need a place where they can be playing and that is the important role Bosso 90 plays,” he said.
History shows that Highlanders’ focus on junior player and talent development was undoubtedly the reason for the club’s dominance in topflight football at the turn of the century.
A number of stars emerged from the much-adored policy, with its last collective achievement in the team’s memory being the pool that won the last league championship for the club in 2006.
Products of that adored junior system include the likes of Thulani “Biya” Ncube, Johannes Ngodzo, Siza Khoza, Gift Lunga Jr, Melusi Sibanda, Zenzo Moyo, Noel Kaseke, Honour Gombami and Simon Sibanda, among others.
These players won four consecutive league titles for Bosso, but since then, the youth football structures at the club have been on the wane. — @innocentskizoe
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