adminCollin Matiza Sports Editor
IN a move that will go a long way in turning a number of aspiring young players into fully-fledged professionals, the Zimbabwe Squash Trust Academy are currently working into going into a partnership with Barcelona Academy of Spain.This was revealed yesterday by one of the founder members of the Zimbabwe Squash Trust Academy, Mashumba Mukumba, ahead of their seventh anniversary celebrations tournament which is set for end of this month at Belgravia Sports Club in Harare.
“We are working on getting into a partnership with Barcelona Squash Academy. In fact apart from football, FC Barcelona, who groomed one of the best soccer players in the world Lionel Messi, also run a number of sporting disciplines at their club and they include squash.
“So, we are currently in the process of preparing video footages of our talented, young squash players at our academy who will then be identified and picked for further training at FC Barcelona’s squash academy in Spain.
“I think this will go a long way in helping us to bring more kids to play the sport of squash in our country as they are likely to end up turning into fully-fledged professional players overseas,” Mukumba said.
Most of the young players who are earmarked to go for further training at Barcelona Academy are expected to be in action when the Zimbabwe Squash Academy Trust host their 7th anniversary celebrations tournament at Belgravia Sports Club in Harare on November 25 and 26.
“The tournament is designed for all the junior age-groups up to Under-23s for both boys and girls. This is all part of our junior development programme.
“In fact, the Zimbabwe Squash Academy Trust has come a long way in achieving its goals as an a academy. We managed to groom the likes of Tafadzwa Mushunje, Covermore Mutata, Innocent Mukumba and Yvonne Mubure who are all playing for Belgravia Sports Club in the Mashonaland Winter League . . . They are playing in the First League,” Mukumba said.
Currently Yvonne Mubure, one of the academy’s junior products, is the Zimbabwe Ladies champion. Squash has, in fact, made a significant change to the lives of these children, especially exposing them to the rest of the world when they travel to play in major international tournaments outside the country.
Mukumba said they are now looking at recruiting and training more children and identify talent among them for future international assignments.
“We would like to thank FedEx Express, SEF Sprospero Capital (Private) Ltd, St Elmos and Duskhome for sponsoring us and helping to make our 7th anniversary celebrations tournament a great success.
“Our sponsors felt we are special as a community-based academy and they decided to take us on board. They are providing the prizes, snacks, refreshments and some goodies for the players at the tournament,” Mukumba said.
Zimbabwe Squash chairman for juniors, Steve Mannion, and Zimbabwe Squash chairman, Lucky Mlilo, are both expected to grace the Zimbabwe Squash Academy Trust’s 7th anniversary celebrations tournament at Belgravia Sports Club on November 25 and 26.
Online Reporter