Online Reporter
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MUTARE’S flagship junior football tournament – the Mai Hondo Youth Soccer Tournament – is back on the calendar after taking a sabbatical last year owing to logistical challenges.
The 2026 edition of the junior football competition has been slated for December 5, a day after schools’ third term closing day.
Tournament chief associate, Blessing ‘Jah B’ Mutsaka, confirmed that the annual football competition will be played on December 5, 2026.
“We are now discussing with the local junior league, but we have set December 5 as the date for the competition. We have the boys’ and girls’ categories. Both are Under-15s. We have reduced the cut-off age for girls from Under-18 because we want to encourage the tapping of girls’ football talent at an early age. The format we are going to take this time around is that we will have eight teams only on the finals day.
“We are going to have qualifiers first for both girls and boys, and then the top four teams from both will feature on the final day. Only the eight teams – four for the girls and four for the boys – will play on the day. We have done this to reduce congestion of fixtures. The two-day event we used to have was good and created a carnival atmosphere, but we felt we needed to reduce fatigue,” said Mutsaka.
The Mai Hondo Youth Soccer Tournament chief associate said the competition will be limited to Mutare-based teams this year.
“In terms of participation, we normally have national-level participation, but this time around we will have local-level participation and that means teams from Mutare only will be participating.
“For the boys, we have a functional junior league and these will play qualifiers from where the winners will feature on the final day. For the girls, they do not have a functional league, but we have women teams that are playing in competitive leagues, but they have young girls within their set-up. So we will invite those to take part.
“This time we have limited it to Mutare only because we have other national tournaments for the junior level such as the Banc ABC Grassroots Impact Programme, hence helping the local teams to strengthen their squads. It also relates to the resources at hand. We have made that decision so that we do not incur accommodation, food or other logistical costs. We just had to cut our garment to fit the cloth at hand,” he said.
Mutsaka also confirmed that they have already begun marketing the 2026 edition of the competition.
“We are already starting our marketing drive. You will see a flurry of marketing material for the tournament. We will also be approaching several organisations that deal with youth health and wellness issues to come and partner us for the good of our youth,” he said. In one of the marketing fliers already circulating on social media platforms, Mai Hondo Youth Soccer Competition and Associates wrote:
“Help us support the next generation of football talent. Donate a soccer ball for US$20 or a soccer kit for US$150 towards the Mai Hondo Youth Soccer Tournament on December 5, 2026. You can donate the equipment directly or send your contribution via EcoCash to 0773770300 — Blessing Mutsaka. Every contribution helps keep grassroots football alive!”
