Chronicle Editor
Nkosilathi Sibanda, Sports Reporter
THE world of mining has it, the most-prized gem is rarely found. If so, it would be one that is rare and fetches a jackpot.
In the world of sport, the same rings true, when talents are talked of. The best that has come out in our lifetime can be of equal measure and be described as gems too.
Just like diamonds or gold, the best footballers are discovered in the rarest of places and most of the time they would be dirty and unattractive.
It takes the patience of the founder to convince the world how good and valuable their find is.
At a time when many thought the best were in cities and towns, it has dawned that even in areas full of scrum, poverty and hopelessness, talent resides. Proof of that is in how football academies have done in identifying promising talent.
Think of the recent story of how Premiership side Chicken Inn acquired 14- year-old Awakhiwe Tshalibe. And, not so long ago, Highlanders rode high in having secured the services of Prince Dube from Bubi District in Matabeleland North Province.
Going further north, Aces Academy holds glory as one of the country’s best football schools, having honed players that went on to dazzle the world.
Khama Billiat leads that pack of players who now wear celebrity badges with pride, all because of being products of academies.
These are but, a nut in a shell of examples of how academies are important in football development. Plucking a leaf from that, has been the work of Sportive Development Academy.
The South Africa-based football institution is led by Percy Alimenda, a Zimbabwean, whose passion for the game is unparalleled.
Being a talent development institution, Sportive Development Academy has decided to spread the net wide and look for the best young footballers in the region.
Sportive Development Academy director Percy Alimenda and his team have decided to hit the road from SA through Zimbabwe up to Zambia, all in quest of finding the best there is in football.
The journey will be one that counts well in the mould of how football integrates communities in Southern Africa.
At the centre of this initiative is a journey to discover the best talent. Starting next week, Sportive Development Academy will visit the country and have a match against Binga Football Academy at Dete Business Centre and thereafter proceed for another in the resort city of Victoria Falls before crossing the border to Lusaka, Zambia.
Alimenda said there was more to football than just playing on the field.
“The aim of the tournament is just to expose our boys from different cultures and different countries so that at the end of the day they will learn from each other. It will also educate these boys and get them to assess the different football methods within countries.
“The teams taking part are Sportive Development from South Africa, Binga Academy and Makwika Football Club in Zimbabwe. In Zambia we will be playing against Swindon Livingstone Foundation. The main purpose overall is to learn from each other as a unit,” said Alimenda.
Alimenda, is a brother to former footballer Stephen, who once played for Highlanders, Dynamos and CAPS United.
He said after their matches with the two academies in Matabeleland North, they will proceed to Zambia.
“Thereafter, we will conduct clinics in Livingstone, Zambia. These will be beneficial in that players get to learn the basics of the game from top coaches in Zambia.
“They will be under the tutelage of coach Soko, Godfrey Kwibisa and the entire Swindon Foundation technical staff.
“What we aim at is to integrate Africa through football. In so doing we will also be presenting an opportunity to the young players to position themselves well to be up for the chance to even play in the United Kingdom.”
Alimenda said in their plans they want to identify as many players from different countries in Southern Africa.
“We have been playing a lot of training games with top academies in South Africa and we want to continue on that path by supporting talent elsewhere in the region. Last year in October we went again to Zambia for the same programme. This year we are playing league games for the Under-12, 14 and 16.
The league which we play in is recognised by the South African Football Association and we fall under the Johannesburg region and Greater Mayfair Local Football Association where we are affiliated. It is a great opportunity for these boys to play in that league because they play against top teams,” said Alimenda.
On their plans for the future, Alimenda said they have a lot of work to deal with.
“Our plans for the future are to keep on growing as a development team. We will continue to market the project so that we can produce top quality football players.
“We also aim to open some other training centres in different countries and I am very sure that by 2025 we will be having another training centre in Zimbabwe or Zambia.” —@NkosieLegend
Bongani Ndlovu