Sports Reporter
FIFA have seconded their instructor Ulric Mathiot to conduct a grassroots football coaching course in Zimbabwe next month.

The programme will take place in Masvingo from April 10 to 14. The grassroots course dovetails with the Ministry of Sport and Recreation’s project that targets to establish at least 8 000 football clubs countrywide. The programme received full backing from FIFA president Gianni Infantino on his visit to Zimbabwe recently.

ZIFA vice-president Omega Sibanda, emphasised the importance of grassroots courses.

Each of the country’s 10 provinces will second six representatives comprising the ZIFA provincial chairperson, three male coaches and two female coaches to participate in the five-day course.

“We are very grateful to FIFA for helping us conduct such a course, especially at a time when we are moving towards implementing the Ministry of Sport and Recreation’s nationwide multi-football club project.

“It is time for the nation to move away from treating 6-12-year-olds’ football as merely recreational, we want it to be administered properly so that we adopt the bottom-up approach to development,” Sibanda said.

The major thrust of grassroots football is to take the game of football to all children between the age of 6 and 12 years and ensuring that they are nurtured in the best ways possible through the guidance of coach educators to become not only professional footballers, but also good citizens.

Mathiot, who hails from Seychelles, has also conducted similar programmes in many African countries.

“In a world where many youths are not employed, football has provided an escape route from poverty and substance abuse, therefore, we want to escalate the levels of youths who are saved from illicit ways through introducing them to organised grassroots football.’’

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