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Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter
PORTUGUESE football giants FC Porto are sending their academy coaches Francisco Couto and Joao Pedro to Zimbabwe in what is being touted a game-changing development for the country.
The globally-acclaimed duo is visiting the country to seal the Portuguese club’s partnership with a local football academy, Royal Oak.
The latter have inked a watershed deal with the European powerhouses which will see them benefitting in an array of football issues including administration and performance.
And the two coaches will kick-start the marriage when they take Royal Oak coaches and players through an intensive technical programme in Harare from March 13-18.
Royal Oak partner schools and other academies from across the country and they are also set to benefit from the camp.
Royal Oak Academy director, Tichaona Moleni, confirmed the pair is scheduled to take through the nursery on the European club’s methodology and development culture.
“We are excited as Royal Oak Football Academy. We have a partnership with FC Porto to develop our administrative team, players and coaches. The partnership involves a lot of exchange programmes towards those goals. To kick-off this cooperation, FC Porto (coaches) will be coming to Zimbabwe from March 13-18,” said Moleni.
“We are very happy as an academy and the future looks bright. This is the beginning of a remarkable journey which will also see, in the not-so-distant future, our players, coaches and administrative team also travel to Portugal for exchange programmes. We are looking at benchmarking the whole set up to international standards.
“We are also finalising with partner schools who will be part of the programme. Their coaches and players will also be exposed to the FC Porto culture and technical support.”
FC Porto Academy is one of the biggest football nursery schools across the world and they have produced several stars of the game including Portugal legend Helder Postiga.
And the country could benefit immensely from exposure to their methodology and philosophy.
There is also a possibility that players and technical staff from Royal Oak Academy will join the FC Porto’s highly publicised High-Performance Camps in Spain, running from June to August.
A statement from FC Porto’s website reads: “The FC Porto Valencia High-performance Summer Soccer Camps take place in Enguera, Valencia, Spain from late June to early August. The academy offers boys and girls from 9-13-years-old the chance to experience professional-style training and learn the methodology and philosophy of the world-famous Portuguese soccer club.
“These high-performance summer soccer camps in Enguera, Valencia present the perfect opportunity for intermediate and advanced soccer players to take advantage of their summer vacation to improve their skills. Camp participants work on their individual skills, technique, precision and power of shots, progression of passing skills, as well as match preparation.
“Participants also learn about proper nutrition and sports psychology. Not to mention, the FC Porto Valencia high-performance Academy features state-of-the-art facilities fit for professional soccer clubs. In fact, FC Porto along with other prestigious clubs use the facilities to train while they’re on the road.”
Royal Oak is not short on credible expertise with former Warriors players Harlington Shereni and Ephraim Mazarura being the technical director and head coach for the nursery respectively.
Online Reporter