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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
IN a development which is set to spur the development of junior football at a large scale, TN Beverages, through their Premier Plus Mahewu brand, have poured $200 000 to the National Association of Primary Heads for the Under-14 soccer tournament spread over a two-year period, starting next term.

Primary school football has largely been ignored by sponsors, a situation which has seen a lot of potentially good players being lost as they would rather concentrate on other things.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony in Harare yesterday, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Paul Mavhima, hailed the beverage company for their efforts which will ensure footballers start the development process at an early age.

“Sport is no longer an extra-curricular activity in the new curriculum. It is now an integral part of the learning process. A lot of people the world over are earning a living out of sports.

“It is only good for companies to come and formulate marriages like these which stimulate the growth of sport. A good footballer should be developed when he/she is still young. I want to thank you (TN Beverages) for this gesture. I want to challenge other companies to take a leaf from this initiative.

“My ministry wants to work with the Ministry of Youths, Sport, Arts and Recreation to establish academies across the country for the development of sport. It is quite encouraging to see there are companies out there who wish to see sport develop.’’ TN Beverages Group chief executive, Tawanda Nyambirai, said his company will review the sponsorship after two years.