Talent identification, nurturing crucial in sport

EDITOR — Over the years most youths or high school tournaments have focused on specifically targeted sports like soccer, cricket, basketball and others without embracing all the sports at one event.

Though “specialisation’’ has definitely its own advantages as well as missing links it is good now that schools have started holding tournaments where more than two sports are competed for all at once.

Our greatest Warrior of-all-time by the familiar name Peter Ndlovu is a notable product of such youth tournament like the Copa Coca Cola with others like Leo Kurauzvione, Nyasha Chazika being other notable products among other popular players who donned the sacred blue jersey. The Dairibord Zimbabwe Rugby Festival formerly the Cottco Rugby Festival is the biggest schools rugby festival in the country.

This festival or tournament have also grown from strength to strength even crossing the borders from its origin even attracting participants from not only Southern Africa but even beyond.

Talent identification and nurturing are of great importance in any sporting nation and even famous popular clubs Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal FC, Barcelona, Real Madrid also have such structures where talent is nurtured and developed from youth level.

Besides those mentioned above we can also point to other successful groups like the Under 23 soccer team which took part in the 1995 AllAfrica Games producing such great players like George Mbwando, Stewart “Shutto’’ Murisa, Alex Munawa, Gift Muzadzi, the Muteji brothers among others.

Global youth success stories like Man United Class of ‘92 are just hard to ignore.

We hope the Nyanga East Super Foundation sports tournament finals is going to be a long-term youth identification tournament and a success story not only in Zimbabwe but in Africa and even beyond. Felix Zonke.