Online Reporter
Innocent Kurira
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Castle Lager Premiership is a league which is allergic to the talents of its teenage stars.
Each club is directed to register, at least five such youthful players, in their squad for the season.
The initiative is commendable because it is meant to promote the interests of the young players, who are the future of the game.
But, statistics show that the clubs do not trust these young players.
Only four players of the 76 youngsters registered with the PSL teams managed to play, at least, 10 games during the season.
This means they are the only ones who were eligible to be considered for the award reserved for the teenage players. Lawrence Moyo, the convener of selectors, said this was an area which the league’s leaders needed to deal with.
“With regards to the Most Promising Young Player award, at the beginning of the season there were 18 clubs, each with five slots for development players. But, by the end of the season, only four players qualified because they were the only ones who managed to play more than 10 games.”
“When the season started, we had 76 players registered under this category.
“Seventy two of them could not play at least 10 of the 34 games. For me, this is an area that needs attention from both the PSL and ZiIFA.
“We have to come up with more sustainable development strategies.”
His concern framed the night differently.
Awards evenings are meant to salute the present, yet the gap he pointed out left everyone thinking about tomorrow.
The coaches who cling to experience over youth, the clubs who concentrate on short-term survival, and the young footballers who remain stuck between potential and opportunity.
Scottland’s Mafios Chihweta, who is tipped to become one of the stars of the domestic Premiership, won the award for the most promising young player.
