Hosts Zim bank on placement games

Veronica Gwaze

Zimpapers Sports Hub

ZIMBABWE’s Under-15 boys and girls will now look to salvage their pride in placement games this afternoon after failing to make the semi-final cut at the ongoing CAF African Schools football Championship at Gateway High in Harare yesterday.

The hosts failed to win in their respective categories in the group-stage matches on Monday and Tuesday.

The girls’ side had showed promise when holding continental giants Morocco 2-2 in their opening Group A match.

But successive defeats by Democratic Republic of Congo (1-0) and table toppers Zambia who beat them 3-1 put paid to Zimbabwe’s hopes of writing the tournament’s fairytale.

On their part the boys’ side managed to collect one point against Uganda fell to DRC and drew against Morocco throwing their second-round prospects into disarray as the two points were not enough to see them through.

The top two teams from each group progressed to the semi-finals with Zambia and Morocco surging through from Group A, leaving Zimbabwe and DRC to play for placements this afternoon.

But for a nation that squeezed into the CAF Chamionships final by virtue of being hosts, the results do not suggest a gloomy future for the Warriors and Mighty Warriors, nor do they point to any inferiorities.

The man in charge of the grassroots game in the country — ZIFA technical director Dominique Niyonzima was impressed with what he saw from the junior teams.

“For this current tournament, you know we are hosting so we participated because we are hosting and not because we qualified,” Niyonzima said.

“What I just saw from our boys and girls was impressive, it was a good performance taking into consideration that they only had a maximum of 10 days to prepare unlike other nations.”

Niyonzima noted that the tournament plays a critical role in talent identification while it also presents a proper platform for player development pathway.

“So the impact of the tournament is there if you consider the development pathway of a player.

“However, we still have a lot to sit down and work on as ZIFA and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to ensure that football is played more often to give players exposure,’’ he said.

With other junior age groups meant to participate in coming tournaments, it will also be a perfect opportunity for Zimbabwe to continue with player development as Nqobile Magwizi’s ZIFA leadership work on reviving development programmes, which had been dumped by their predecessors.

“The impact normally has to be there, because when you want to develop players, we have to start from younger ones,” added Niyonzima.

“And this tournament being dedicated to Under-15s, it should be a perfect point of departure.

“On the development pathway, it should be on the second level, the first one being under-12 and then Under-15.

“But for this tournament to give a real impact to us here in Zimbabwe we have to go back in schools, in communities and then organise football to be played the whole year because we can even see here that were have massive talent at grassroots.”