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According to Mutsaka`s statement, the tournament organisers are inviting organisations and individuals willing to partner them.
More than 180 under 16 boys players from Mutare`s high density suburbs of Chikanga, Sakubva, Hobhouse and Dangamvura are expected to battle it out in a potentially explosive junior football tournament dubbed “Mai Hondo Under 16 youth soccer tournament”.
The tournament whose theme is “Let’s give the Youth a Kicking Chance” is set to be an annual event and is set for December 12. The tournament is being organised under the auspices of the Mutare ZIFA Junior League and organising committee compromising mainly of junior league officials, the Matsaka family of Sakubva and former soccer players.
In a statement Blessing Matsaka, one of the organisers, said the two main objectives of the tournament are to support the development of junior soccer talent within Mutare as well as convey appropriate and positive messages on youth issues. According to Mutsaka`s statement, the tournament organisers are inviting organisations and individuals willing to partner them.
To date, invites have been sent to FACT Mutare and the National AIDS Council so as to spread reproductive health messages to the youth through edutainment and IEC (Information, education and communication) materials.
“Junior football is the cradle of soccer in Zimbabwe. Junior leagues are, however, poorly supported and established business and teams concentrate on senior soccer team sponsorship without proper junior league development.
“Supporting junior football is akin to long term investment in soccer and human capital development. Currently few corporates within Mutare support junior teams or the junior league in some way.
“The junior league and soccer teams are run by dedicated and passionate community coaches and owners who themselves face many resource constraints. The current leagues run solely on the passion of these dedicated men and women.
“Sports, particularly soccer, is a congregating discipline for youth especially here in Zimbabwe. Participating in sport fosters a sense of team and well being within the youth. It also gives youth discipline in terms of keeping with training regimes, setting targets and goals and competing fairly to achieve goals.
“They will need these values in their current and future lives in other life settings not necessarily related to sport. The tournament hopes to support the building of these values through soccer.
“The tournament presents a captive target audience for spreading messages on such issues and other important matters such as prevention of drug and alcohol abuse. It also provides an opportunity for youth focused organisations to come along and spread these messages through various forms to both participants and spectators of these games,” reads part of the statement. — The Weekender.
Online Reporter