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Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
ACES Academy director Nigel Munyati says their former players — Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat — have always been exceptional from their early days at his school of football excellence.

Munyati is not surprised that the two have taken the national team by storm with their sublime skills and have become the pillar of coach Callisto Pasuwa’s side.

Munyati and his fellow director Marc Duvillard are the partners in the Aces project which was started in 2001 and would be celebrating their 15th anniversary this year.

“What also happens is that we always try and send some of our high potential players to Europe so both Knowledge and Khama spent some time there,” said Munyati.

“They went on tours and I think Khama went when he was about 14 years with the Under-15 group. I think Khama went twice as he went again at 17 and 18 which we call the finishing stage where they spent about six weeks with the clubs in Switzerland, playing the junior teams with those clubs.

“And that is also very important and I think that is one thing that has helped Khama and Knowledge, having played in Europe when they were in their teens, when they were then given opportunities like in South Africa, they were not overwhelmed because they had got used to playing on such a level.

“We had no doubts about Knowledge and Khama even when we sent them to Europe the reports that we got back were always very complimentary and I knew they would one day make it.”

Munyati said their project will continue to churn out more stars.

“We have achieved quite incredible success with our players, Knowledge went to Germany, things may not have worked out as he would have wanted but I think because of the discipline that we gave him, what we taught him, the perseverance, he didn’t give up and came back to South Africa but his mind was still focused on going back to Europe,” said Munyati.

“Now he is in Belgium and is playing very well and I think that another year there you should see him being one of the top players there and, hopefully, he will get another contract with big clubs in Europe.

“The unfortunate thing is that Khama hasn’t gone yet because he would have been successful even if he had left earlier.

“I think he is ready, he is 25, about the upper limit of transfers to Europe in terms of age and I think he still has, at least, a good five years in Europe and it could be 10 years depending with how he handles himself but, physically, he is quite ready, and mentally also he is quite ready.” Munyati revealed that the club’s annual budget was $250 000 and they have always been driven by the passion to develop talent.

“Our Academy costs a quarter of million dollars to run per year to run it and we have got donors in Switzerland and Sweden who fund our activities but that probably accounts for about $180 00 so we still have a deficit of about $70 000 per year,” said Munyati.

“We need to meet that through our player transfers.” “We are very delighted that Aces Soccer Academy is making a significant contribution to Zimbabwe’s football. “I think we have six women in the Mighty Warriors squad that qualified to go to Rio. We have Marjoury Nyaumwe, Sheila Makoto, Eunice Chibanda, Rufaro Machingura, Daisy Kaitano and then Onai Chingawo who is now into team management and came from Aces.

“I can say without hesitation that we are the single largest contributor to all national teams today. It is not something that we say because we want to brag but we actually feel honoured by this young men who have made it possible for us to be a significant contributor to Zimbabwe’s general success as a nation.”