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Collin Matiza Sports Editor
ENGLAND-BASED Zimbabwean soccer player Mikaeel White is keen on turning out for the national Under-20 side at the Cosafa tournament in Lesotho in December.
Eighteen-year-old striker White, whose father Charlie “Maskiri” White used to turn out for the now-defunct Arcadia United in then Super League in Zimbabwe in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is now out of contract with English lower division side Barnet and will be going for an attachment at South African side Engen Santos in Cape Town in January.
And Mikaeel’s father, Charlie, said yesterday that his son would like to play for his country of birth Zimbabwe and was also prepared to play for coach Jairos Tapera’s Young Warriors side during the Cosafa Under-20 tournament in Lesotho in December.
“Mikaeel is now out of contract with Barnet and I will soon be taking him to South Africa for an attachment with Engen Santos.
“We are still negotiating terms and conditions, and after that he will also be attached to Cannon de Yaounde of Cameroon in February.
“He is 18 and is going there to gain some experience but before he goes for his attachments at Santos and Cannon de Yaounde, I would like him to play for the Zimbabwe Under-20 side (during the Cosafa tournament) in December . . . He is available for selection.
“What Miki can do is come down there to Zimbabwe using his own money and train with the (national Under-20) team. Accommodation is no problem for him. That way he can be assessed by the Young Warriors coaches because he will also be preparing for the 2014-2015 season,” Charlie White said.
While playing for Barnet’s Under-18 side, Mikaeel played against Chelsea, Watford, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham, Southend, UK Academy and Luton U-18s as well as a number of development squads in England.
At the moment, he is playing for non-league team AFC Moates to keep fit since he will be going to South Africa and Cameroon.
Charlie White also said that apart from his son Mikaeel, the Zimbabwe Under-20 team can also benefit from the services of another young, talented England-based player Macauley Bonne who is playing for English Division One side Colchester United’s first team.
Charlie White claims that Bonne’s parents are both Zimbabweans and “this young man may be of interest for you there in Zimbabwe”.
He said the owner of English Premiership giants Chelsea, Roman Abramovich, is keeping an eye on Bonne’s progress at Colchester.
“I’m quite sure Zimbabwe will benefit from the services of Macauley Bonne and Tinashe Abrahams, who is an ex-Tottenham Hotspur and Barnet junior player), and they are all 18,” Charlie White said.
According to Colchester United’s official website, Bonne was born in the English town of Ipswich on October 26, 1995 and joined Ipswich Town as an Under-8 but left as an Under-14 which meant he was there for most of his career.
He then spent a small time at English Premiership side Norwich before he joined Colchester at the end of the Under-14s football age-group in 2009.
Bonne was prolific in front of goal when he joined Colchester, and worked his way up to Under-18 level.
Until making his first-team debut, Bonne had scored 46 goals in 54 games Under-18 appearances. In the 2013–14 season, Bonne had scored 10 goals in just two FA Youth Cup fixtures.
This form prompted manager Joe Dunne to call him up to the first-team squad, having featured on the bench during the 2012–13 season.
On October 22 this year, Bonne was brought on as an 86th minute substitute for David Wright to make his Football League bow as Dunne pushed for a winner during a 1–1 draw with Shrewsbury Town. Following the game, Bonne said that he was “absolutely buzzing” having made his debut and that he hoped to have many more opportunities in the first team.
On his 18th birthday and home debut for Colchester, Bonne was brought on as a 62nd minute substitute for Clinton Morrison, and consequently scored the winner eight minutes later in a 1–0 victory over Peterborough United on October 26.
The Young Warriors will be hoping to do better than their last showing at the Cosafa Under-20 tournament in Botswana where they failed to reach the knock-out stages while Zambia, under Keegan Mumba successfully defended their title.
Zimbabwe are in Group D in the tournament that will burst into life in early December.
Group D at the Cosafa Youth Championships will contain three sides, with the top two teams in the pool playing a crossover match against opponents in Group B that will help to decide first place.
Regional powerhouse Zimbabwe will take on Botswana and Swaziland in what should be a fascinating pool.
The latter two will open the 2013 Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championships when they square-off against one another in Maseru on December 3 (kick-off 12h30).
A day later and Zimbabwe will make their bow, taking on Swaziland at the same venue at 5pm.
The teams will then move to Mafeteng for the third match, with Botswana and Zimbabwe clashing in what should be an intriguing fixture.
According to the tournament organizers, in order to ensure fairness and that all the semi-final teams in the competition have played four matches ahead of the knock-out stages, the top two sides in Group D will take on the top two in the other pool with three teams, Group B.
The side that is leading Group D after their first two games will play the second-placed side in Group B, and vice-verse.
Those matches will both be played on December 9, starting at 14h30, and will take place at each of the two venues in Maseru and Mafeteng.
Zimbabwe’s Young Warriors side have been amongst the most successful teams in the history of the competition with six wins in all, the last coming in 2007 when they beat hosts South Africa 3-0 to record a comprehensive win in the final.
Online Reporter