Chronicle Editor
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
FOOTBALL is a commercial venture that sees large amounts of financial figures being presented by clubs the world over, all in a bid to be the best.
Clubs have been known to literally break the bank to sign the best available players on the market to be the best and it has worked wonders for the likes of Real
Madrid of Spain, while others like Paris St Germain of France, success has been limited to the domestic league despite splashing millions of dollars in a bid to conquer Europe.
Other clubs like Barcelona make huge investments in their academy and produce their own players like what they did with Lionel Messi.
However, while teams have flexed their muscles to get the best available players, including in Zimbabwe, it is disturbing that very few clubs believe in junior policy.
Junior coaches have been left wondering if they are important at all despite putting so much into the development of youngsters with the hope that one day they play first team football.
“It’s essential for the first team to have home grown players,” Dutch legend Patrick Kluivert, who is the Barcelona academy director told the Spanish giants’ official website.
Barca has over the years enjoyed enormous success domestically and continentally with a large pool of players that graduated from their famous academy.
A player who comes through the system understands the core values of that particular club and emotional attachment fans have to the club.
Few players joining certain clubs due to the dollar power hardly have any emotional attachment to that club.
To them it’s just a business arrangement, nothing more, nothing less.
At one time when Highlanders lost at home to their biggest rivals on the domestic scene Dynamos, some players were seen drinking the night away at a local sports bar in the city, while others that had come through the system like Erick Mudzingwa covertly retired to their homes.
Mudzingwa said then it was taboo to be seen enjoying whilst fans were mourning.
Ahead of the 2020 Castle Lager Premiership season that was unfortunately paused by the Covid-19 pandemic, PSL clubs invaded the local market.
Some brought in more than 15 new players, while Bulawayo PSL teams had a combined total of 31 new players.
All these teams have what it was previously thought were vibrant junior structures.
Highlanders brought in five new players and promoted just two, Cardwell Gavaza and Muziwethu Dlamini.
Chicken Inn, the 2015 Premiership champions, signed seven new players ahead of the season kick-off.
Returnees Bulawayo City retained 11 players who did duty for them in Division One last season, while signing nine and Bulawayo Chiefs, who survived relegation by a whisker last year, brought in an incredible 10 players. All these teams supposedly have vibrant junior teams.
“It renders the whole junior project useless and a waste of resources and probably shows no trust and belief in your junior coaching personnel. If teams resort to buying players then they must as well abandon the junior set-up. It’s really sad for Bulawayo teams because the city is known for its vibrant junior league unrivaled in the country. It makes a sad situation when a team like Highlanders forks out money to buy a boy who started his career in their own structures.
Mark my words boys like Darlington Munkuli and Dominic Jaricha, who were rejected will leave supporters fuming in the not too distant future,” said Siphambaniso Dube, owner of Ajax Hotspurs that plays in the Zifa Southern Region Division One League.
Online Reporter