Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo in BEIJING, China
ICONIC former Warriors, CAPS United and Black Rhinos star midfielder Stanford “Stix” Mtizwa has knuckled down on nurturing the next generation of footballers.
He has previously dabbled in mentoring senior players at his former clubs Black Rhinos, CAPS United and Mwana Africa, albeit without much success.
But he is now spending more time with Jadel Football Academy’s budding talent in Mbare, a suburb where he was also identified and subsequently developed into a box-office player.
Mtizwa is leading the nursery’s Under-12 and Under-13 teams, which are due to represent the country in two international tournaments scheduled for Thaiwoo and Beijing respectively.
The grassroots team arrived here last night and will immediately start preparing for the Thaiwoo Cup, which is to take part in Thaiwoo between July 23-31.
They will then shift their focus to the globally-acclaimed 100-Team Cup that attracts some of the top academies from across the world.
The 100-Team Cup will be staged in Beijing from 8-16 August.
JFA Under-13 side won the tournament for the first time last year and they will be out to try and defend the cup.
And for Mtizwa, being able to play a role in the development of the young players is all that matters.
JFA, founded in China by former Zimbabwe youth international Walter “Ringers” Musanhu before spreading to Zimbabwe, England and the United States of America is on an audacious drive to lay the foundation for this country’s hopes of qualification for the 2034 World Cup.
“I cannot overemphasise the issue of catching them young for it is at this age that youngsters get to be developed into good footballers,” said Mtizwa.
“Yet just hammering on making them play and play without giving them proper exposure is often a vain exercise.
“This is the exposure they need to develop determination, confidence and self-belief.
“I tell you, a player who has been able to participate at such high-level tournaments like the Thaiwoo and 100-Team Cup can never be compared to anyone else.
“This helps in their grooming and from here a huge seed is planted and three or four years from now, most of them will be ready for first division or even Premiership football.
“That is what exposure does to young players.
“I would like to thank Walter Musanhu for seeing to it that these youngsters get to play in such world-class tournaments.
“The benefits are massive and even the youngsters are looking happy and ready to express themselves.”
Mtizwa, who holds the record for most appearances on the Soccer Stars calendar (10) during his illustrious playing career, said the only way Zimbabwe can do well at an international level is by investing effort in properly developing youngsters.
He is a beneficiary of proper junior structures from which he was identified by CAPS United in the 1970s before taking the stage by storm for over a dozen years that followed at both club and international level.
