New sports club for Plumtree launched

Plumtree Correspondent
THE community in Plumtree Town has appealed to the business community to invest in emerging football clubs and help develop sporting activities in small towns.Speaking during the official launch of Plumtree Rollers Sports Club at the weekend, the club’s manager, Archieford Zhanje said clubs in small communities lack exposure.

“Accessing resources is the major challenge not only for our club but for most within the town. Our sporting activities eventually become of low standard because of shortage of training equipment.

“We have limited recreational facilities that we can use for training purposes. Our practice sessions eventually do not pay off,” he said.
Zhanje said this reduced the prospects for players or teams to make it into big leagues.

He said the intervention from the business community would help create more conducive and well equipped training facilities.
“Our teams are not highly competitive compared to small teams found in bigger towns such as Harare and Bulawayo. This therefore reduces our chances of advancing to bigger leagues as our performances remain below standard.

“The teams have the appropriate skills and expertise but they need proficient training which is possible if resources are available. That is why we would appreciate assistance from investors,” said Zhanje.

Speaking at the launch of the club, Zhanje said the club which has 40 players was formed with the purpose of nurturing talented players to feed into bigger clubs around the country.

“The team was formed in May this year and it houses both football and netball teams plus 16 officials which comprise the board of directors and other departmental heads.

“As a young entrepreneur I decided to form the club in order to create employment for young people. I decided to enhance youth participation in various development initiatives,” he said.

Zhanje said unemployment was still a huge challenge among youths within the border town and urged them to utilise opportunities presented by the indigenisation programme.

“The indigenisation programme has presented youths with an opportunity to be economically empowered and this involves engaging in the development of sporting activities within small communities,” he said.

Plumtree Rollers Football Club is an affiliate of the Plumtree District Soccer League.