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Mandla Moyo, Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO City Council has given Legends Sports Development Academy (LSDA) the green light to use its sporting facilities for soccer grassroots projects.
This comes after LSDA, through its sport development consultancy division, wrote a letter to the city fathers requesting for permission to use its idle facilities.
In response, BCC advised LSDA to approach the respective communities so that they can find common ground on the issue.
According to LSDA spokesperson as well as one of the founder members, Lawrence Phiri, they are happy about that development and plans are underway for all the parties to sign a memorandum of understanding.
“We feel very excited by the latest developments as this will pave way for strengthening youth centres within the communities. At the same time next year during the youth festival to be held in partnership with BCC we expect football to be the feature event,” Phiri said.
The festival to be held in conjunction with BCC is expected to be the climax of this initiative by its organisers in that it will be reaching out to all communities across Bulawayo.
This is expected to give them the leverage to sell their idea of breathing a new lease of life to youth sports centres in the city.
Phiri said he was also encouraged by the response they got from the first meeting that was held recently to brainstorm on the issue.
As part of the road map LSDA intends to mobilise former football players, soccer legends as well as coaches of junior teams within the targeted communities as part of their social responsibility.
Some of the former players as well as legends who have shown a keen interest in working with LSDA are Barry Daka, Amin Soma Phiri and Ernest Sibanda, among others.
Phiri, Gibson Homela, Peter “Captain Oxo” as well as Douglas “British” Mloyi are the brains behind the initiative.
Looking at the work that lies ahead considering the areas to be covered Phiri appealed to more former players to come on board so that they can share the vision.
The legends want to groom players from juniors, which will feed into Premier Soccer League teams in the country.
Online Reporter