Gokwe North tourney begins

believe this year’s event – where they will be celebrating the fifth edition of the tourney – will be the biggest sporting event ever held in the district.
Forty-one schools, drawn from seven zones, will get the ball rolling today in a battle to win the zonal ticket and a chance to play at the finals to be held at Nyamuroro High School on July 29.
Nyamuroro High have already booked their place, by virtue of being hosts, and will be joined by seven representatives which will emerge from the zonal championships.
The eight teams will then be split into two groups, of four teams each, with the top two teams qualifying for the semi-finals on July 29.
The final of the rural schools’ football showcase will also be spiced by sungura musician Sulu Chimbetu who has been secured by the organisers to provide entertainment on an occasion where they will mark the fifth anniversary of the tourney.
The tournament is sponsored by young businessman, Innocent Guvuriro, and coincides with celebrations to mark the fifth anniversary of his company, Guvuriro Transport Services, which runs the Pin Code buses that operate in the area.
Gokwe North is also hosting the Midlands provincial schools’ football and netball championships this year, which will be held on July 22, and Guvuriro has also been working with the National Association of Primary School Heads in organising that tournament.
“As a company we have been providing transport and assisting in every small way that we can, working in conjunction with NAPH, to ensure that the provincial primary school ball games are a huge success,” said Guvuriro. “We believe that is a service that we can give to our community.
“But our main thrust has to do with the Pin Code Tournament for the secondary schools, whose zonal finals get underway tomorrow (today) and we have worked very hard to try and organise a huge tournament that will make the whole of Gokwe North very proud.
“It’s a special edition, because it marks the fifth anniversary of both the company, which started with just one bus a few years ago and now has a fleet of about 10 buses, and a tournament that has continued to grow with each year.
“We have already invested about US$20 000 into the tournament, so far, and we expect to spend more because we are supplying the boys’ and girls’ kit, there are 60 balls, we have T’shirts and there are costs related to fuel, transport, referees, preparations of the grounds, security and other logistics.
“We are ready and we also believe the teams are ready for the biggest sporting event in Gokwe North.”
Dakaupfu Secondary School are the holders of the Pin Code football tournament but Guvuriro expects a tough challenge for them.
“The other schools have been working hard and they have been improving and so it won’t be easy for Dakaupfu to retain their crown,” said Guvuriro. “Our mission is to try and give the athletes a chance to showcase their skills and we are happy that this year, we sponsored 12 athletes, from primary schools in the area, and took them all the way to the national championships where they won prizes.
“To us, that means a lot because it shows that we have the talent and we are also playing our part in helping that talent.
“The community has been very supportive and we are only playing a small part and hopefully, at the end of the day, a very good player will emerge from all this.”