FC Porto coaches to oversee two-day tourney

COACHES from FC Porto are set to oversee a two-day tournament set to be hosted at High Achievers Helensvale Sports Centre tomorrow and on Sunday.

It will be a four-team tournament with hosts FC Porto Zimbabwe, Inter Harare, BRUSFA Academy, and BH Academy in contention.

FC Porto is a top-flight side from Portugal and one of the leading clubs in European football.

The club’s developmental coaches have been in the country for almost two weeks and have been helping their Zimbabwean partners FC Porto Zim.

The relationship between the two was established two years back which allowed the two clubs to come into partnership about a year ago.

Academy president, Coby Chimedza, believes the tournament will open doors for budding footballers as they will get the exposure of what they are expected to do at the biggest stage.

“It’s a talent hunt by FC Porto coaches to assess our players,” he said.

“So the availability of foreign coaches is good for the development of our game.

“The level of competence that comes with these foreign coaches is of importance to us as it directly benefits our players and coaches. They bring a lot of knowledge and skills.

“We hope it will be a changing experience for the players. Already you can witness the positive impact the coaches have already brought within the academy.

“We are quite sure that our boys will make us proud and showcase the talent they have, and we are looking forward to an exciting event,” he said.

Academy general manager Tichaona Moleni said the long stay by the foreign coaches is a good example of how sports tourism can benefit the country.

He believes as a country we still have a lot to learn from these European coaches as there is still a big gap between us in terms of facilities, infrastructure, and equipment.

“So this tournament will be the perfect example of a cultural exchange which is even good for sports tourism.

“Academies like FC Porto are the benchmark of international standards and having their people here means they leave behind the skills and knowledge to develop our standards.

“At the same time having them stay for long means that we are doing good in terms of sports tourism and they will be going there speaking about how hospitable our country is.

“As administrators, we paid them a visit and learnt that the gap between them and us is big.”