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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Under-20 technical staff will from tomorrow embark on a nationwide tour in search of players ahead of the 2015 Cosafa Under-20 finals set for Zambia from December 3-14.
According to national Under-20 assistant coach Mandla Mpofu, the first trials will be held at Barbourfields Stadium tomorrow morning before moving to the Midlands on Sunday.
“Tomorrow’s trials will generally be for players from Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and Bulawayo, so we call upon players of the right age and from the named provinces to come in their numbers on Saturday as we begin our search for talent,” said Mpofu.
He said players should bring their identity documents.
Mpofu said the whole technical bench consisting of head coach Jairos Tapera, goalkeepers’ coach Richard Tswatswa and manager Patrick Mutesva will take part in the identification process.
“Our search is expected to end on November 1 in the Northern Region before we go into camp on November 8,” said Mpofu.
The player identification process, however, makes a mockery of the Premier Soccer League’s good intent of having mandatory five slots from each club reserved for players under the age of 20.
As a result of lack of patience from success starved club administrators, coaches are put under a lot of pressure to win titles and as such tend not to use the youngsters, denying them the much needed exposure and game time, rendering their development non-existent.
Only Bantu Rovers are known to have used youngsters during their campaign in the Premiership last season.
Online Reporter