Coca-cola workshop set for Kwekwe

Fungai Muderere
AN all-stakeholders Copa Coca-Cola schools soccer competition workshop meant to reaffirm Zimbabweaï¿½ï¿½s status as the leading nation in developing football talent from grassroots level is set for Friday in Kwekwe.

Coca-Cola Zimbabwe market activation manager, Vee Chibanda hopes the workshop will bring in new ideas to keep the 28-year-old tournament as the prime hunting ground for young talent.

aï¿½?We are the pioneers of the Copa Coca-Cola soccer tournament having started holding the contest in 1989. As such, in an effort to find ways of breathing new life into the whole tournament we are going to hold an all-stakeholders workshop.

aï¿½?We believe the workshop will help us re-affirm our status as the leading country in the development of young talent,aï¿½? he said.

Journalists and other stakeholders will be expected to come up with ideas on how best the tournament could be re-energized.

There are 62 Copa Coca-Cola playing nations and in Zimbabwe the annual tournament has produced players that include the legendary Peter Ndlovu, Johannes Ngodzo, Ovidy Karuru, Walter Musona, Harlington Shereni and VusaAï¿½ Nyoni among other stars that have gone to shine outside the country.

Ahead of this yearaï¿½ï¿½s edition which is expected to kick off in May countrywide, Copa Coca-Cola has had its boys section changed from an Under-16 tournament to Under-15.

National Association of Secondary School Heads (NASH) head in charge of football Albert Mucheka said the shift was necessitated by the fact that the age group recognised by the Federation of International Football Associations is Under-15 and not Under-16.

aï¿½?The change from Under-16 to Under-15 was to align the age group with Fifa recognised age groups. Fifa recognise the Under-15, Under-17 and Under-20 age groups. Also the sponsor wants to develop the age group, that is to aï¿½?catch them youngaï¿½ï¿½. Again it was an age group that we used to have before the Under-16 came in,aï¿½ï¿½aï¿½ï¿½ said Mucheka.

For the girls who compete at Under-17, there is no change to the age group. It is the second time that the boys section has had its age group altered as the tournament used to be for lads Under-20 when it started in 1989 and became an Under-16 competition in 2009.

Mucheka said their intention was to have the boys being Under-15 throughout the whole of 2017 which means the cut-off date is 1 January 2003.

Chipindura High School and Herman Gmeiner, both of Bindura, are the teams at home for this yearaï¿½ï¿½s national finals in July.

The tournament will be officially launched at Rujeko High School in Glendale on 24 May. Rujeko won the boysaï¿½ï¿½ competition with a 4-1 scoreline on penalties over Chinhoyi while Chidyamakono were the girls champions for the third year in a row after they beat Magwegwe 1-0.

The finals took place at Phelandaba Stadium in Gwanda.