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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
THE Real Betis Academy Zimbabwe will arrive in the country on Wednesday after concluding their tour of Spain.
The academy is on a 10-day tour of Spain, which saw them being trained by the Real Betis youth coaches, play matches and also got to watch Real Betis in action.
Gerald Sibanda, Real Betis Academy Zimbabwe president, whose sports agency Athletes Sphere Management in 2020 secured the deal to be the Spanish club’s first academy in Africa, said the tour was a success.
“We have finally come to the end of our programme down here in Seville. The week has gone great, we managed to play two games for assessment with two different teams. On Tuesday, we depart Seville straight to Zimbabwe and we arrive on Wednesday morning,’’ said Sibanda.
According to Sibanda, the Zimbabwean youngsters got an appreciation of the Spanish culture of football, that is passing and movement with the ball played on the floor with no long balls.
“We are very happy because the boys learnt a lot about the technicality of Real Betis Academy and the Spanish type of play. Technically and tactically I feel our boys got a clear identity of how our teams must play. If we play the same way Betis plays then as a country we can move forward,” said Sibanda.
On Saturday, the Zimbabwean lads watched Real Betis draw 1-1 with Italian giants Inter Milan in a friendly match played at Estadio Benito Villamarín in preparation for the resumption of league action after the World Cup break.
This is the first time since the academy was established in 2020, that Betis Academy Zimbabwe embarked on a tour of Spain.
The academy has been conducting training camps in Harare where former players, Murape Murape, Tichaona Diya and Philemon Mutyakureva have been in charge.
Johannes Ngodzo and Gift Lunga (junior) are overseeing proceedings in Bulawayo.
With the support of its international business development department, Real Betis are pursuing a global education project through football.
Its objective is not just to develop new playing talent but to also provide access to good education and fight against marginalisation and social exclusion in different parts of the world.
Already, more than 1 000 boys and girls outside of Spain have had the chance to train under the club’s methodology. At the same time, by arriving in new countries and setting up such projects, the club is in a better position to develop commercial activities in these markets and expand its brand. — @innocentskizo
Online Reporter