Dzapasi rescues African players

DYSON Dzapasi, a UK-based Zimbabwean professional football player scout and talent recruitment manager, has partnered with Janza Soccer Schools of Excellence (JSSE) in Zambia to establish the first professional football talent assessment centre in Southern Africa.

The centre, which will be based in Lusaka, draws players from over 12 countries across the whole continent, including Zimbabwe.

Dzapasi, founder of PYE Sports Management UK based in West Yorkshire, England, is a former Leeds United academy scout and well respected in junior football scouting and recruitment circles.

His sterling collaborative works with his partners has seen young players signed by a number of English football clubs, including Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town, Barnsley, Manchester United Academy and Oldham Athletics.

Nicknamed “Jomo”, Dzapasi has effusive passion and vision to mentor and uplift the economically and socially  underprivileged young players in Africa.

After he discovered that parents were paying over £3 000 to come to Europe for assessments with private academies, he felt the young socio-economically deprived boys were excluded and decided to work with JSSE and have the first International football assessment centre in Africa.

This has put an end to parents going through the pain of raising over £3 000 to visit Europe.

The JSSE centre in Zambia led by Honour Janza, a former Zambian national team coach and winner of the African Cup of Nations with Zambia in 2012 as an assistant.

Janza is also a winner of COSAFA Under-20 title with Zambia as well as the Zambian domestic top division league championship. He is a holder of the prestigious UEFA B Coaching licence from Holland and CAF A Licence.

Janza oversees the technical side of the project. Players are assessed tactically, physically and psychologically; and then given ratings with top performers given a pathway for further assessment to European teams.

The JSSE-PYE Sports Management project highly respect and adhere to the high standards and top talent specs required by top European teams and their assessments are rigorously and thoroughly strict.

Deserving players are given life-changing opportunities. The project has seen international  players such as Benjamin Fringpong, an Under-20 Ghanaian; Mthokokozisi Maphosa, a Zimbabwean Under-17 player; Wesley Milanzi, a Zimbabwean Under-18 player; and another Zimbabwean player Joseph Mandevhani, selected among the top performers who included six Zambian players.

Dzapasi will soon be travelling to Holland and Belgium with the initial intent to create new opportunities for the Africa-based talented boys and build up on the thriving good networks with top English teams.

“Africa is a key area for us in terms of recruitment, partnerships and collaborations. Moreover, it is our ambition to see young players getting opportunities in top European divisions not only from Southern Africa but from the whole continent of Africa,” quipped Dzapasi.

JSSE and PYE Sports Management have also entered into a partnership deal with Revival Soccer Academy which based in Harare’s high-density suburb of Mufakose.

Former Dynamos left-back Stanley “Samora” Chirambadare is the founder of Revival Soccer Academy.

The partnership will see the first batch of Revival’s top players over the age of 16 going to JSSE in Zambia for assessment.

They will be assessed alongside other young players from other African football schools from such places like Ghana, DRC and Ghana.

Retired Nigerian skilful midfielder Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha and Mali’s Frédéric Oumar Kanouté are some of former top African players who have visited this new centre of excellency in Zambia. — Agencies-Sports Reporter.

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