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Sports Reporter
ALL is set for the Arenel Nash Under-17 football tournament provincial finals set for today at various venues across the country. Harare and Bulawayo have already staged their finals and today’s will feature schools in Midlands, Masvingo, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West, Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North and Mashonaland East fighting for honours to represent their respective provinces in the national finals.

The national finals will be held in Harare at Prince Edward from July 31 to August 2.

In Midlands, schools will converge at Zvishavane High, while Pamushana will host schools in Masvingo.

Schools in Manicaland will meet at Mutare Boys’ High and Mashonaland Central teams will be at Hermann Gmeiner.

Pfupajena is the venue where Mashonaland West schools will clash.

Mzingwane will host schools in Matabeleland South, while participants in Mashonaland East will battle it out at St Ignatius.

In Matabeleland North schools will converge at Fatima High.

The winners from these provinces will join winners from Harare, Marlborough, Bulawayo’s Mzilikazi, defending champions Mavhuradonha and hosts Prince Edward to make 12 teams for the finals.

Nash head in charge of football Albert Mucheka said they were looking forward to today’s competitions.

“Everything is now in place for those competitions and at the end of the day tomorrow we will be having all the provincial champions who will meet in Harare from August 31 to 2.

“We are expecting a total of 12 teams.

“We already have got the defending champions Mavhuradonha and the hosts Prince Edward. Harare will be fielding two teams, their provincial winners and the hosts as well as Mashonaland Central, who will be fielding the defending champions and their representative,” Mucheka said.

Mucheka said the coming in of Arenel to sponsor the tournament had motivated the participating schools.

“As Nash we are very happy; this time around this age-group got a sponsor. In the past Nash was bearing the costs of staging the event.

“We are happy that we are managing to liaise with people in the business sector to partner us. If you have sponsors, the teams, at least, have something to play for and it gives motivation to the teachers, the players and the schools.

“During the finals in Harare there will be a panel choosing a team of 18 players that will represent Zimbabwe at the Cossasa Games in Bulawayo in August.

“It means a lot for Zimbabwe because for us to have good national teams we need to have programmes at grassroots where young players are developed,” Mucheka said.