Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
FOR the second year running, top Zimbabwean football academy Legends will get a chance to showcase some of the best emerging talent in the country when they feature in the Vision View TV Easter Cup of Champions tournament in South Africa.
The Under-17 tournament for which Legends were invited on the back of their impressive showing on debut last year, is being staged at Pinnacle College grounds in Kyalami and burst into life Friday morning with the Zimbabwean outfit having a 3-0 walkover win on Midrand LFA, who were too late for kick off.
According to the pre-tournament draw Legends were drawn into Group C which also includes Highlands Park, Panorama, and School of Excellence.
Group A is made up of Zhaimu Jambo’s Kaizer Chiefs, Joburg City, Magnet Youth KPS Academy and Mamelodi Sundowns.
The mid-morning clash between Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns is one of the headline fixtures for Saturday given the rivalry that exists between their senior teams.
Apart from the Legends’ assignments, other potential match-ups include the encounter between SuperSport United and University of Pretoria in Group D and the showdown between AmaZulu and TS Galaxy.
Coach Farai Dhliwayo and manager Josephat Rwafa have brought fresh talent with only a few survivors from last year’s class, including defender Nashe Pepukai and star forward Tatenda Maulidi providing the tournament experience.
Churchill High School king pin, Maulidi, one of the stars of the Zimbabwe team in the CAF Schools competition, has also been named captain of this year’s class.
Dhliwayo is confident Legends will shine again this year.
But more importantly for the experienced development coach and his trusted lieutenant Rwafa, is the platform which such tournaments like the Easter Cup of Champions provides to budding talent, with some of the young players on tour, travelling out of Zimbabwe for the first time in their lives.
The Easter Cup is also coming in the year that Legends are expected to take an Under-17 side to England for a tour of that country’s Premiership side Everton.
Legends are one of only two African institutions that are on the Everton International Affiliate Programme.
“Participating in the Under-17 Vision Viewer TV Easter Cup of Champions against South Africa’s and some of Southern Africa’s best club sides is now a part of our development process,’’ Dhliwayo said.
“It is important that we compare our development efforts with the top clubs in the region.
“For our players it is priceless experience and I have seen players grow from these kinds of exposure.
“As part of development we ensured that half of our squad that participated in the tournament last year were young enough to play again this year.
“This is essential for the development cycle. Last year many of them played bit part roles, but this year they are the stalwarts of our cup chasing team.
“We will be looking for good performances from the exceptional Tatenda Maulidi, Vera Santu, Munyaradzi Mugabazi, Jay-Jay Dhliwayo, Nashe Pepukai, Denzel Chakaza, Johnathan Zaloumis and Abel Musemburi,’’ he said.
Dhliwayo said they will continue with the cycle of participating with one eye on the next tournament in 2026.
“This year we have done the same, bringing a contingent of players who will next year be the leaders striving for success.
“For many of our young players, this is the first time to get a passport and travel internationally.
“The tournament will be a new experience for them, but it helps to capacitate and prepare them if they get junior national team call-ups in the future.”
With ZIFA emerging from a dark past where youth football had been sidelined, academies have chipped in to play a major role in talent identification and nurturing, which has eased the burden on Young Warriors coaches when they have to select squads for the COSAFA and African Union of Sports Region 5 assignments.
