Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) is set to resuscitate junior football in the country.
Wilson Mutekede, who is the ZIFA Technical Director said they are going to develop youth football through hosting district and provincial tournaments across the country adding that this will enable Zimbabweans to host and participate in youth football competitions, regionally and at international level.
“Competition and success is just a measure of preparedness, hence the need for us as a country to focus on developing these youngsters from grassroots. You see it does not make sense for us to participate in junior tournaments because we do not have an active league so there is no way we can come up with a team. Firstly, we thought it wise to put in place junior competitions before going on to expose ourselves on regional and international stages,” he said.
He added that as a football board they hope that Covid-19 cases will reduce in the coming weeks which will pave way for government to accept ZIFA application.
Recently ZIFA applied to government seeking permission for the resumption of football activities.
“Our prayer is that COVID-19 continues to subside so that government will consider our application. Negotiations are already there and it is looking fruitful,” he added.
Junior football development in Zimbabwe remains a topical issue and it is hoped the move will steer the growth of the game.
Meanwhile, Young Warriors in the past underperformed in regional tournaments, which led ZIFA to withdraw from such tournaments this year and concentrate on domestic competitions.