adminRay Bande Senior Sports Reporter
DEEP in the thickets of Chivi District, about 70km along the Masvingo-Zvishavane Highway, there is a turn-off into a wide and bumpy dust road that stretches seven kilometres in undulating terrain leading to Chidyamakono High School.Villagers in the predominantly arid area are mainly into small grains farming, given the sun baked soils of a community that is used to dry climatic conditions that prevail throughout the year.
Naturally, families in this area have to make do with the rapoko, millet and sorghum that come from the fields and being a rural set up that it is, there are few avenues, if any, to make a dollar.
Poverty is evident!
However, amidst the scarcity of resources, let alone the overt lack of amenities in this area, a silver lining in the dark cloud seems to have emerged in the form of the Chidyamakono High School girls’ soccer team.
The two time Copa Coca Cola Under-17 girls’ soccer champions have given the community a reason to look into the future with hope for better things.
Judging by the pomp and fanfare that prevailed during last Friday’s 2015 Copa Coca Cola schools soccer tournament official launch, the community at large, impoverished and remote as it might be, has found the reason to believe in their capabilities and potential.
Not even Sithethelelwe ‘Kwinji 15’ Sibanda could resist the charm of a colourful event hosted by a rural community to honour achievements of a rural girl child.
Sibanda, the first female coach to work in a men’s competitive league in Zimbabwe, was one of the celebrated football personalities that graced the 2015 Copa Coca Cola launch at Chidyamakono High School.
“None expected that a school in the rural areas such as Chidyamakono could win this tournament. People always want to think of schools in Harare or Bulawayo when it comes to winning sports competitions, but here we are, Chidyamakono has won this tournament two times on the trot. What makes the Chidyamakono achievements more exciting is that this has been done by a girl child and the fact that it is located in a remote area,” said the former Mighty Warriors star.
Former Zimbabwe international, Harlington Shereni, who plied his trade in France at the peak of his career, was also there at Chidyamakono and urged the Chidyamakono Under-17 girls’ soccer team never to look down upon themselves simply because they come from a rural setting.
“I played in this tournament when I was in high school and I also could not believe it when we won the tournament since we came from Chiredzi, fighting against schools from much developed urban settings.
“It is against this background that I want to urge these young girls to work harder and achieve more in their careers. Let not the fact that they come from this rural area be a hindrance in their road to stardom,” he said.
In an interview on the sidelines of the official launch, one of the pioneer organisers of the tournament, Samson Muzvanya, said the tournament had achieved its aims and continues to build on the success achieved over the years.
Muzvanya said Chidyamakono’s triumph evidently helped the kids to realise that they were just the same with their counterparts who reside in urban areas.
“This tournament started in 1989 when we, as the Coca Coca system thought of partnering football. At that time there were a number of cigarette manufacturers and breweries that were sponsoring top flight league soccer hence the decision to venture into schools soccer where National Association of Schools Soccer had structures already.
“I think the objective of the tournament has been achieved and it is now a case of building on the successes achieved over the years. I am sure everyone witnessed the excitement that was at Chidyamakono. They now feel equal to their urban counterparts.
“It is also important to note that the tournament has managed to break the social barriers that dictated that urban schools only succeed. We have winners from rural schools, too and Chidyamakono is a good example,” said Muzvanya.
After all, just like NASH head-in-charge of football Albert Mucheka told Post Sport that: “The Copa Coca Cola schools soccer tournament is not about winning. If you win it is a bonus.
“We want to teach values of fair play, respect, tolerance and commitment among other values that mould a responsible citizen.”
Online Reporter