Online Reporter
Innocent Kurira
ZIMBABWE will host a rare slice of European football later this month when Spanish top-flight side Villarreal CF send a team of coaches for a youth development camp in Harare.
The La Liga club will run a three-day programme on April 27, 28 and 30 at Morris Depot Grounds.
The camp is being organised in partnership with Athletes Sphere Global and will cater for players from Athletes Sphere Academy aged between five and 19.
It is the first time Villarreal are taking their development model to Zimbabwe, giving local youngsters direct access to European coaching without leaving the country. One player from the camp will be selected to take part in an official Villarreal tournament in Spain.
Athletes Sphere Global director, Gerald Sibanda, believes the visit is a big step for local football structures.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Villarreal CF for the next chapter of our football development programs for Zimbabwe. It’s a great honour working with a massive club in Spain and UEFA competitions. “Our affiliation with Spanish football brings identity and investor confidence in our sports brand Athletes Sphere Global.
“It’s another step forward towards promoting our beautiful country Zimbabwe as a global destination for football and sports development.
“This camp brings so much hope and excitement to our youth players from different backgrounds, and we look forward to learning and developing our players under the football methodology of Villarreal CF.”
The camp comes at a time when European clubs are casting their net wider across Africa in search of young talent, and Zimbabwe is starting to attract that attention. Villarreal CF international business manager Brandon Páramo said the club see this as more than a one-off visit.
“It’s great to collaborate in this first camp in Zimbabwe in partnership with Athletes Sphere Global.
“Through this initiative, we aim to share Villarreal CF’s methodology with international players, supporting their development by providing a unique opportunity to learn directly from our coaches.
“This is just the beginning of our journey in the region, and we look forward to expanding our collaboration, creating further opportunities both on the sporting and commercial fronts in the near future.”
Mathew Masinge
This is a useless program for our youngsters. We have seen a lot of coaches going on attachments with different so-called big teams in different leagues all over the world and nothing within our football development shows for all those endeavours. It’s time we stopped glamourising these arrangements that bring nothing to us.