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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
SIMBA Bhora teenage centre-back Frank Matizanadzo (Jnr) has made a giant leap in his career after signing for Prime Time Academy in a deal that will see him move to England next month on a football scholarship.
The 17-year-old completed the move in Harare in the presence of Simba Bhora officials, including club president Simba Ndoro last Friday.
He joined the Shamva-based Castle Lager Premier Soccer League team early this year after impressing coach Tonderai Ndiraya during a brief audition.
He was yet to debut for the league newcomers with veterans Partson Jaure and Webster Tafa always deploying at the heart of defence.
The former Mufakose High 2 student has however been sitting on the bench as a clear demonstration of his readiness to be thrust into action despite his age.
And he has become a second beneficiary of the Prime Time Academy initiative to place talented youngsters at European teams for their fast integration into developed football philosophies.
Prosper Madera of MAJESA Academy became the first beneficiary of the program which is being spearheaded by Dynamos legend Murape Murape who is the nursery’s head of recruitment for Zimbabwe and Africa.
Matizanadzo was identified in the academy’s first international combine held in Harare in April. Another promising youngster, Dynamos’ Elton Chikona is also understood to have caught the eye of the international scouts and he will soon be following in Matizanadzo’s footsteps. Matizanadzo is looking forward to a fruitful journey in his career.
“I am very excited with this development,” he said. “I only joined Simba Bhora this year and I should say this club helped me a lot in terms of growing my game.
“I would like to thank everyone who has helped me grow my career. I am looking forward to developing my talent in England and I feel very happy to be joining Prime Time Academy.
“It’s a giant step forward. I am very impressed with how everything has unfolded over the past few months”. Murape said more youngsters are lined up to join the bandwagon to Europe.
“I would like to thank academy director Dexter Blackstock for setting the international nursery in Zimbabwe in the first place.
“We are realising that we have a lot of talented youngsters who have the potential to make it very big in European leagues,” said Murape. “We have already identified a number of players for the program. Matizanadzo is heading to England where he will join a top academy on a scholarship. These are the first moves of which many are coming”.
Matizanadzo’s father Frank (Snr) said parents should support their children if they have sports talent.
Online Reporter