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The move by ZIFA to introduce more checks and balances to govern the mushrooming football academies around the country was long overdue.

The country has in the last few years seen an upsurge in the number of junior social football initiatives.

There is nothing wrong, though, with having many football academies in the country because of the important function these institutions serve in the development of the game, as well as the overall success of the country in international football events. 

Academies are key because that is the only place where raw talent is identified and developed from a young age. It is also easy and more effective to teach prospective players football skills from a young age. 

Budding players often find themselves in the academies to learn the foundations and master the technique of the game in order to become world class football stars.

Zimbabwe has in the past had high profile success stories with players like Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat and a host of other professional players graduating from the famed Aces Youth Soccer Academy in Harare, Marvelous Nakamba from Methembe Ndlovu’s Bantu Rovers and Marshall Munetsi from Ali Sundowns and Friendly Academy. 

But these are not the only academies in Zimbabwe. 

The actual number cannot be ascertained because the football academies business in the country is largely unregulated.

In the absence of a sound junior development policy from ZIFA and the bizarre apathy by the Premier Soccer League clubs to groom players, a number of youth football institutions have cropped up across the country’s 10 provinces. 

Sadly, most of the so-called academies are just fly-by-night ventures which cannot meet the basic requirements for the running of a proper football academy.

Some of the academy owners are into it just for the passion. Others have found themselves involved in this initiative in the hope that they would hit a jackpot through the sale of players. 

Across the globe, in areas like South America and West Africa, developing players has become a big business which is highly profitable.

But the challenges that have been encountered in the attempt to set up such enterprises in Zimbabwe are numerous. In the rush for possible quick buck, most of the people that have ventured into the business in Zimbabwe have done that so ill-equipped they cannot be trusted with the budding football talents of a nation.

For starters, there are several investments to be considered when starting a proper football academy. 

You have to invest firstly in infrastructure, the right coaching and administrative personnel, proper equipment and the knowledge to cultivate the football skills, among many other fundamentals. 

One cannot claim to start an academy just because they have found access to two balls, bibs and some cones. 

This is exactly what is happening with most of the so-called football academies in the country and every day they are seen extending begging bowels in all social spaces to boost their equipment. 

The coaching at these academies is conducted by unqualified personnel in most cases and the infrastructure and training grounds are in bad state. 

Some charge exorbitant fees to parents, especially for the holiday coaching clinics. 

They take advantage of parents that look to break the boredom and possible exposure of their children to social vices that come with letting them sit at home doing nothing during the school breaks.

Some of these children are really talented. 

So you can imagine, with this level of ill-preparedness how many budding talents have been put at risk. Most of the academies that are sprouting around the country are a total rip off.

There have been allegations of child abuse at some of these groups. ZIFA should be held complicity for taking a lackadaisical approach when academies have been mushrooming under their noses for years. 

Many countries, including our neighbours South Africa, have set down rules that govern the operations of football academies. 

Things should be done in a proper manner and ZIFA are correct in saying that checks and balances should be enforced beginning this year. At least they realised their error and are correcting it.

Prospective football academies should meet the appropriate requirements.  

The ability to provide the right tools to players is the key starting point. From the pitch and quality of turf that allows maximising development of individual technical skills, the location of the facility — all aspects are important to gain maximum results.

An academy should take care of their infrastructure and players exactly the same way as a top-tier club.

Finance is the most important part. Setting up a football academy is no child’s play and it requires huge amounts of capital that one individual may not have the capacity to raise. 

External funding is an option worth exploring and could involve roping in stakeholders in the football industry as well as involving the local residents in a little fund raising round as this is for their children too.

Getting the right people to handle the many tasks that a football academy demands is a very vital step. 

This involves getting the right administrator who will ensure a smooth running of the establishment; a good accounts person and a good coach who knows what it takes to nurture talent.

ZIFA should ensure that academies are registered with the association and in conformity with the CAF and FIFA standards.

Like any other business or institution, there are regulations to be adhered to and one of them involves the registration of the academy. 

This is to ensure that all the safety standards are followed and in case anything goes wrong, there are people who will be held liable.

By not registering their operations, local football academies are also losing big due to non-FIFA connect registration process, which legally binds them as a football registered academy under the world body’s regulations.

As a result, they lose potential earnings from the sale of players developed under their wings. 

Academies are entitled to get their development fees each time a player moves from one club to the next under the FIFA statutes but more often junior coaches in Zimbabwe never benefit from their efforts in developing the game.

Only a few academies in the country such as the Aces Youth academy and Bantu Rovers in Zimbabwe seem to be reaping rewards from such moves. 

FIFA have set up a registration process which is known as the FIFA connect registration which is very simple to register academies. 

The system is able to track player movements globally and properly registered academies can benefit even if a player moves 20 years after they left them.

Hopefully, ZIFA will live to their word and enforce the regulations. 

Effective and productive football academies are becoming more of a necessity and clubs are having to pay even more attention to the correct development of their youth on their books.