Chronicle Editor
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Real Betis Academy Zimbabwe finally took off with a three-day training camp for the Under-18 age group held at Heritage School in Harare.
A total of 20 boys attended the camp which was held from 11-13 December. The sessions were presided over by the Real Betis Academy Zimbabwe head coach Murape Murape, assistant coaches Johannes Ngodzo, Gift Lunga, goalkeepers coach Tichaona Diya, strength and conditioning coach Grant Mitchell as well as medical doctor Nicholas Munyonga.
Real Betis Academy Zimbabwe president and chief executive officer is delighted that the project that has been talked about for months has finally coming to fruition with the holding of the first ever training camp in Harare.
“I am excited for the future now, it’s one thing having a project and one thing for the project to start. I am happy that the millions of Zimbabweans have embraced us, we feel the love, we feel the excitement and they can’t wait for the Betis academy to come to their provinces and their regions to conduct our training camps,’’ said Sibanda.
What excited Sibanda the most was the presence of the Spanish Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Santiago Gómez-Acebo who spoke to the youngsters about the importance of having Real Betis a well as the La Liga brand in Zimbabwe.
“I felt honoured to also have ambassador Santiago Gomez from Spain visiting the boys and also communicating to them how important and special having Real Betis and the La Liga brand in Zimbabwe means to the people of Spain,’’ Sibanda said.
According to Sibanda, the feedback from the youngsters has been positive as the boys expressed delight at being in an environment where they were even fed and had a shower after attending a training session. Eat n’ Lick provided meals for the boys throughout the training camp. @Mdawini_29
Bongani Ndlovu