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Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
SINCE 1989, when the Copa Coca-Cola tournament gave a new lease of life to schools football in the country, three schools have been dominant with a joint record of having lifted the trophy four times.

One of them is Harare’s Churchill Boys High School.

The other two are Mzilikazi from Bulawayo and Masvingo province’s Hippo Valley.

Churchill were crowned champions in 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2008.

With such a reputation in the tournament, the school inevitably looks back to marvel at their achievements.

Churchill’s sports director, Paul Kaunda, said one of the major benefits that came through their participation in the tournament and the success they had was the interest by Premier League teams, especially Dynamos, to work with the school.

“A number of players were identified and developed to become better players through the tournament,’’ he said. “Premier League teams also developed an interest in working with our school hence the school benefited from the expertise that was brought by the coaches as some of them had vast experience working as Premier League coaches of clubs like Dynamos.

“The partnership made it possible for the school to have more football players enrolling at Churchill as parents realised that their children could become good players if they were associated with the Churchill School brand.’’

The school also had its dominance felt at the turn of the millennium with their squad featuring the likes of Samson Choruwa, Eddie Mashiri, Norman Maroto as well as Cephas Chimedza.

Kaunda said such players were a testimony of the success of the schools’ football festival that has over the years continued to reach out to young players across the country.

“The preparation for this tournament means coaches have to spend time working on different weak areas so that come the day of the tournament people will enjoy good football,’’ said Kaunda.

“The players who are selected after the tournament attend workshops in South Africa, this exposes a player to other skills and techniques provided by foreign coaches.

“Players also have a chance to mix and mingle with other players from different parts of Africa as they play together, which offers them an opportunity to learn new skills and understand how things are done in other countries.

“The feeling that players have of being associated with the Copa Coca-Cola brand motivates them to be involved in football.

‘’The financial rewards that participating schools get is used to buy equipment which is then used to develop talent.’’