Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda
Zimpapers Sports Hub
AT 21, Tawanda Chirewa is walking into the pre-season with English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers, fresh off a loan spell at Huddersfield.
He is already a Zimbabwe senior international. He plays in front of packed stadiums and signs autographs in two countries.
But here is a thought that slices right to the bone of local football: If Chirewa had grown up in Zimbabwe, would he even be playing in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) right now, or still waiting for a 39-year-old to retire?
That is not just a rhetorical jab. It is the painful, systemic reality of Zimbabwean football, a country that registers its future, but rarely plays it.
At 14, Awakhiwe Tshalibe dazzled at the CAF Under 15 Schools Tournament in Harare in December 2023.
Zimbabwe only claimed bronze, but Tshalibe, El Shaddai Sadomba and Tadiwa Chakuchichi stole hearts with their raw, fearless brilliance.
Today, they are vanishing into football’s forgotten pages.
Chakuchichi, now 16, is at Scottland FC, one of just two U-19 players registered by the club, and has played only 116 minutes this season.
Tshalibe is registered with Chicken Inn, but has not featured once.
They are among the 52 players aged 19 or younger registered in the PSL, part of a policy that mandates each club to name five juniors in its 30-man squad.
But that is where the commitment ends.
Only 26 of those 52 juniors have played. Many only saw action for a few minutes: Herentals’ Panashe Kanavheti (18): 2 minutes; Bikita Minerals’ Royn Nyamono (18): 7 minutes; and ZPC Kariba’s Edmond Ruwo (19): a rare exception with 1,071 minutes.
Clubs like Chicken Inn have not fielded a single U-20.
Despite registering five juniors, CAPS United have given them zero game time. Instead, they signed 34-year-old Congolese striker Chris Mugalu just two weeks ago.
“The nature of our job is we are measured with results, sometimes regardless of whom you play,” admitted one PSL coach.
“So, sometimes you go for experienced players who give you instant results.”
The PSL has become a graveyard of second chances for ageing veterans, not a proving ground for emerging stars.
When Saul Chaminuka coached Kwekwe United, he built his team around a quartet of over 30s, Allan Gahadzikwa, Masimba Mambare, Evans Katema and Carlton Munzabwa, dubbed the “four-plate stove” by the now-Dynamos coach.
He took three of them from Bikita Minerals to Kwekwe, and now one or two might follow him to Dynamos, where the recycling continues.
“You look at CAPS United’s recruitment under Lloyd Chitembwe; at some point, he brought in three players with a combined age of just over 100 years,” a local football analyst noted.
“Would Chirewa have made it into the local premiership at such a young age? I doubt it. Coaches here believe too much in experience.”
This culture of caution has bred stagnation. Risk-averse coaching is not just sidelining the youth; it is actively smothering their potential.
In stark contrast, Europe’s top clubs are betting on the youth, and winning.
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal (17) is being tipped for the Ballon d’Or. Pau Curbasi (17) is already a regular in the Barca defence. Warren Zaire-Emery (19) helped PSG win their first UEFA Champions League. Dean Huijsen (20) moved from Bournemouth to Real Madrid after a breakout season.
These players did not just land in Europe’s elite by chance. They were nurtured from as early as 12, signed to professional systems, and trusted when they turned 16 or 17. By 18, they are match winners.
“The most exciting players from all the big European clubs are often the youngest,” says Friendly Academy coach Farai Dhliwayo. “Youths get fans excited. Seeing potential develop into a world class player is something supporters gravitate to.”
“But here? They disappear. They don’t get consistent game time to improve and develop. Right now, sending a young player from an academy into the PSL is detrimental to their development.”
Next month, Zimbabwe will compete in the COSAFA Under-20 tournament in Namibia, hoping to win their first title since 2007.
Drawn alongside Namibia, Malawi and Angola, the Young Warriors carry national pride, and the gaze of scouts from South African PSL clubs. But where are these players coming from?
In recent years, Zimbabwe has failed to build a reliable talent pipeline. The U-20 squads are often cobbled together from whatever clubs can spare, sometimes registering juniors just to tick boxes.
The refusal to develop the youth has birthed darker consequences. In 2018, Zimbabwe was rocked by age-cheating allegations at the COSAFA U-20 tournament in Zambia. In 2020, the national U-17 side was thrown out of the COSAFA tournament in South Africa after failing MRI age tests.
Why? Because the “under-20s” were neither playing nor developing; clubs were cooking the books to meet quotas.
“We picked players from the PSL’s Under-20 lists,” lamented coach Bekithemba Ndlovu during the 2018 scandal. “If they were too old, why were they registered as juniors by their clubs?”
This is not just about cheating. It is about desperation, a system that does not support the youth trying to stay young.
Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, the system worked.
Peter Ndlovu was 18 years old when he was signed by English side Coventry City in 1991, after dazzling the local scene with Highlanders.
Moses Chunga won Soccer Star of the Year at 20. Stewart Murisa lifted the Castle Cup with Darryn T at 17. Memory Mucherahowa debuted for Dynamos at 16.
Today? It is a graveyard for the youth and those stories would sound like fairy tales.
Even Norman Mapeza, one of the PSL’s most respected coaches, bemoaned the lack of quality development and the overreliance on club-to-club player exchanges.
“Currently, we’re not producing players who are ready to compete,” one analyst put it bluntly.
“We’re recycling, not developing.”
ZIFA technical director Jethro Hunidzarira has floated solutions: Force clubs to field two or three juniors per match and create a fully sponsored U-20 league.
“But in our environment, it could be difficult. Most clubs don’t have the finances and there’s no good sponsorship,” he said.
“Even forming a proper U-20 league will need serious investment.”
While local gems rust, Zimbabwean heritage players raised abroad are thriving.
With Chirewa (Wolves) at 21 and already capped for the Warriors, Sean Fusire (Sheffield Wednesday) is commanding minutes in England.
Trey Nyoni and Isaac Mabaya (Liverpool) are touted as future stars. Tawanda Masvanhise (Motherwell) is a livewire in Scotland, and has already appeared several times for the Warriors.
These were born with the same raw talent as many boys in Kuwadzana, Dangamvura or Sizinda, but raised in systems that invested in their development.
“Would Chirewa have made it to the PSL if he had stayed here?” one analyst asked. “He’d probably be behind someone twice his age, still waiting for a debut.”
And that is the tragedy of Zimbabwean football. It is not that the talent does not exist; it is that it is ignored.
Online Reporter