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Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
UNITED Kingdom-based Zimbabwean football coach, Philip Zulu, is in the country to launch a pilot Futsal junior development programme. Zulu, who runs the Super Eagles Soccer Academy which focuses on youth football in the UK, says he wants to assist the development of football from grassroots level but will be doing it through Futsal.

Zulu and his partner, Desire Mbidzo, who is based here in Zimbabwe, have been working with a junior team at Kundai Primary School in Glen Norah and are hoping to spread their developmental programme to other suburbs.

“My main concern over Zimbabwe football has to do with grassroots football, that’s why I want to try and launch Super Eagles programmes. So I decided to come down here to do a pilot project in different locations and suburbs.

“I am targeting the ages from seven up to 16 years but having said that the 17s, 18 to 19-year olds can still come on board and have a separate programme which is more intensive.

“There are good players in grassroots that’s why we are here to try and give youths another chance at this juncture,” said Zulu.
The coach said they are hoping to kick-start their programme in schools.

“The first thing is we will try and encourage people. At the moment we don’t have donors or any funding. My programmes I have run in England are based on membership, subscriptions, parents pay for the kids, we hire venues and we organise tournaments.

“We want to start by encouraging schools to get the taste of Futsal.
“Secondly, we will try to encourage SDAs to set up leagues under the Futsal affiliation. So we might have to go through Zifa to get the accreditation to be affiliated to Zifa and start a Northern Region Futsal league that we feel should go directly into schools to complement the 11-aside football that that takes place in schools.

“Futsal is small sided game, less players on the pitch, compact area where technique, skill and creativity is encouraged so we start with them young at that level at primary schools. Schools play a very important role in this development, we can’t ignore schools,” Zulu said.

Zulu and Mbidzo have already conducted some training sessions in Glen Norah and their next stop will be in Highfield before they move to Mufakose and Mbare within the next two weeks.