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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
TAWANDA Maswanhise’s father says domestic football needs to put its house in order for it to provide a good stage for the next generation of Warriors to flourish.
The teenage sensation, who is on the books of English Premiership side Leicester City, is one of the new crew of players expected to feature for the Warriors.
The teenager has reaffirmed the pledge to consider playing for Zimbabwe, ahead of England.
The 18-year-old has been dubbed one of the brightest prospects, from the Foxes conveyor belt which has, in the past, produced some great names.
This list includes legendary England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, Gary Lineker, Emile Heskey, Ivorian Max Gradel, Ben Chilwell and Graham Cross, who holds the records as Leicester City’s most capped player, with 599 appearances, for the club.
At 18, the hype Maswanhise has generated, has since eclipsed compatriot Admiral Muskwe, who also grew up in the Leicester City system.
He then moved to Luton Town, in the English Championship.
Maswanhise is among a number of young footballers, with Zimbabwean heritage, scattered abroad.
The lively winger, who boasts of good pace and fine technique, is also eligible to play for England.
But, his father Jeffrey, a former sprinter who represented Zimbabwe at the 1998 and 2002 Commonwealth Games, has explained his son’s desire to play for the country of his birth. The former athlete, however, is worried by the state of football in Zimbabwe.
“He will come and play for Zimbabwe,” he told The Saturday Herald, from his base in England.
“We need to sort out one or two things and also these guys there (at ZIFA), they need to sort out their administration.
“Remember, I used to be part of the system. It seems like it’s getting worse but, hopefully, things will get better.
‘’So, don’t worry, he will come.”
The Leicester City prodigy was born in Zimbabwe in 2002, but his family relocated to England, when he was only two years old.
Having spent a decade at Leicester City, he recently jumped from the Under-18s to the Under-23 side.
His performances in the Under-18s caught the attention of first team manager, Brendan Rodgers.
The experienced manager gave him a surprise inclusion, in the Match Day squad, for the league match against Manchester United.
Maswanhise trained and featured, in friendly games, with the senior team during the club’s recent pre-season.
“The breakout star of City’s pre-season, Tawanda Maswanhise is the club’s hottest prospect right now,” wrote Jordan Blackwell of the Leicester Mercury.
“His displays for the Under-18s last season, where his pace and trickery on the wing saw him lead the side’s assist charts, earned him a spot on the bench at Manchester United at the end of last season, and then a role in the first team over the summer.
“In the opening two friendlies, against Burton and Wycombe, he was arguably City’s best performer, thrilling with his fearless play on the ball.
“Stepping up to the Under-23s, Maswanhise has been quick out of the blocks, much like his dad would have been as a sprinter for Zimbabwe, at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and 2002.”
Maswanhise has scored three goals in the six Premier League 2 fixtures, prompting lavish praise from coach, Ben Petty.
He has received rave views in the past few months and won the club’s Goal of the Month award, ahead of internationals like Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho of Nigeria.
He is also in line for a second Goal of the Month award, after he was shortlisted again last week, for the September gong, alongside Vardy, Iheanacho, Ayoze Pérez and Harvey Barnes.
Maswanhise finds himself on the shortlist for his goal against Everton Under-23s, and the ballot, which is conducted by the club online, closes midnight tomorrow.
“He has (got that quality), and you take it for granted now,” said his Foxes academy coach, Ben Petty.
“He looks a livewire.
‘’Once he gets his physicality, grows into his body, and believes in his ability a bit more, I think we’ve got a player on our hands.”
Maswanhise’s rise is just a pointer to the prospects Zimbabwe have in the diaspora, at a time the Warriors are in desperate need, for renewal.
The Zimbabwe team, which has relied heavily on Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat in the last decade, is crying out for new stars.
The former Aces Youth Soccer Academy products played key roles in Zimbabwe’s qualification for the 2017, 2019 and 2021 AFCON finals.
They are now both 31 years old.
However, there hasn’t been a sound policy on the ground, to groom their successors, for the national team.
The diaspora has come in handy, in the last few years, with the discovery of players like Alec Mudimu, Tendayi Darikwa, Jordan Zemura and, recently, Brendan Galloway.
There are more prospects with a younger generation of players like Ethan Kachosa (Sunderland), Jimiel Chikukwa (Watford), Isaac Mabaya (Liverpool), Tivonge Rushesha (Swansea) and Jonah Fabisch (Hamburg SV) coming up.
Maswanhise has indicated, in previous interviews with the Foxes website, that his heart leans towards Zimbabwe, because of the family heritage.
“I was born in Zimbabwe as well, but I came to England when I was two years-old.
‘’I’m getting quite a lot of love over there because my dad obviously used to be a former sprinter for Zimbabwe and, obviously, he’s got a lot of friends and family and fans over there.
‘’They are showing a lot of love,” he told the club’s official website.
Online Reporter