Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda, Zimpapers Sports Hub
FC Platinum have found a new poster boy for their rebuild and they’re already selling the dream hard.
The four time Castle Lager Premier Soccer League champions on Tuesday unveiled 17-year-old Brian Karipi, a teenager from Guinea Fowl School in Gweru and told the country he is now training with the senior team at Mandava Stadium.
“At 17 years old, Brian Karipi, the youngest player at FC Platinum, is stepping up and training with the senior team. Dreams in motion,” bragged the former champions.
But behind the glossy Facebook post is a club trying to patch holes left by a brutal off season clear out that has stripped experience from their dressing room. Karipi’s promotion from the development side comes after the departures of 30 year old Malawian striker Vincent Nyangulu, Misheck Ngwenya and Wallace Magalane, names that carried weight in the Platinum spine.
Karipi is not alone. Zimbabwe’s transfer window has turned into a youth parade, with clubs chasing teenagers and selling “projects” as if they are finished products. The big question now is simple. Are these boys being signed to play or to pose for pictures?
FC Platinum’s new striker is also three years older than Bulawayo Chiefs’ headline grabbing signing Dwayne Musona, who is just 14. Chiefs have doubled down on that youthful gamble by adding 21 year old striker Denzel Mapuwa from relegated Greenfuel, a move that signals they want energy up front, but still need someone old enough to handle the weekly punishment of the top flight.
Dynamos have also joined the rush, snapping up Witness Shave, who turns 20 this year, from Triangle United. It’s another young name thrown into a club that doesn’t forgive mistakes, where one bad touch at Rufaro can turn a promising kid into a target by half time. Reigning champions Scottland are also being linked with teenage talent. Jameson Nduna (17) a product of Supersport United, is reported to have penned a deal with Mabviravira, a club that has quickly become a magnet for young players with big reputations and even bigger expectations.
Scottland already have Tadiwa Chakuchichi (16) who became the youngest player to feature at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals currently underway in Morocco. That is the level of pressure these boys are walking into, and it’s why simply being “signed” means nothing if the next step is sitting in the stands every weekend.
The trend has excited grassroots coaches who have spent years watching talent rot in the gap between junior football and the Premier Soccer League. Former Prince Edward Academy coach Pathius Mauto, now at Lions Academy, says clubs are finally waking up to what the world has been doing for years.
“I am very happy to see some youngsters playing for big teams in our local league and even abroad.
“It seems that we have got people that are now realising that football globally is being played by youngsters at a very young age,” said Mauto.
“So, I think now the gap between the Premier Soccer League and the junior leagues is being bridged. Most of the talent was taking much longer to be seen but now it’s better, because of better tracking of players. It’s also important because most of the talent was being destroyed around the age of 17 or 18.
“Giving young players a chance in the PSL will improve our national team in the long run.
“This development also motivates us to keep churning out talent because we know it’s being absorbed by most of the top flight clubs.
“We will keep producing more good players and I hope these Premier Soccer League coaches will keep believing in exciting young players, because before they didn’t believe in youngsters,” Mauto told Zimpapers Sports Hub.
MWOS, last season’s runners-up, have taken a slightly different route, mixing youth with players who are already hardened by the domestic grind. They have welcomed 23-year-old midfielder Tadiwanashe Murasiranwa from Bikita Minerals, and also snapped up 23-year-old Marcelino Mlilo, the top scorer in the 2025 Southern Region Soccer League.
“A proven finisher with hunger and momentum, ready for the next challenge,” MWOS announced yesterday, a message aimed at supporters who want goals now, not promises.
Former Black Rhinos chairman and Mutukwa Academy owner Edward Mutukwa believes the league has reached a point where signing youngsters is no longer enough. He says coaches must go further and give them real minutes, real responsibility, and real room to grow.
“I think coaches are now realising the need to inject new blood into their teams. “But, the most important thing is for these youngsters to get as much game time as possible so that they can develop fast and become the next Warriors players. If you look at our current national team, it has a good number of young players like Tawanda Chirewa, Bill Antonio, Tawanda Maswanhise and Munashe Garananga, these players are the future of the Warriors.
“Likewise, young players are the future of the Premier Soccer League.
“Old players should eventually pave way for the new blood because we cannot keep recycling players.
“This a good development,” added Mutukwa, who was recently elected Zifa Mashonaland Central Province board chairman.
For all the excitement, the PSL is about to expose who is serious about development and who is just chasing likes. If Karipi, Musona, Nduna and the rest are only good enough for announcement posters, then Zimbabwe will be right back where it has always been, praising potential while wasting it.
