adminEllina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
THE Harare City FC Junior Development tournament reaches its climax today with eight boys and girls teams from eight schools battling it out in the semi-finals and finals at Gwanzura.
The tournament, designed for the Under-11s, was launched in June with 64 boys and girls teams drawn from 32 council run schools. Last year the tournament targeted the Under-15s and was for boys only but this year the organisers decided to go for the Under-11s with both boys and girls competing.
Each section was made up of 32 teams and were divided into four zones with eight schools in each zone. They played in a league basis format, each team playing seven matches and the top two teams from each zone qualified for the quarter-finals.
And the winners from those quarter-finals – Hatcliffe 1, Kuwadzana 4, Warren Park 5 and Warren Park 4 (boys section), Budiriro 1, Hatcliffe 2, Fundo and Budiriro 4 (girls section) – will battle it out today at Gwanzura.
In a draw conducted on Thursday at Town House, Hatcliffe 1 will take on Kuwadzana 4 while Warren Park 4 faces Warren Park 5 in the boys’ semi-finals and the winning teams will progress to the finals.
Budiriro 1 has a date against Fundo in the girls’ first semi-final match. Budiriro 4 will lock horns with Hatcliffe 2 in the other match. The winners in both sections will get $5 000 while the runners-up will receive $3 000.
The semi-finalist will walk away with $1 200 while the quarter-finalists get $800. The other 24 schools will get $300.
Harare City Football Club acting chairperson, Stanley Ndemera, said they hope to take the programme country wide in the future.
“We started it last year. We concentrated on Under-15s but then we thought that this year it will be better if we catch them younger. So we decided to start the tournament with Under-11s so that we then develop them into Under-13, Under-15, Under-17, probably up to our senior team,” he said.
Wenslus Murape
Online Reporter