Zim football is 200 years behind: Chunga
ZIMBABWEAN football legend Moses Chunga has lamented the free fall of the game's standards in the country, as he estimated the domestic league could be behind advanced countries by 200 years.
The former Dynamos striker, who also played in Belgium, said keeping up with technological trends may be a long shot considering the country’s economic problems.
He then bemoaned the failure to do basics.
“We can talk of how generally football is perceived in the country,” Chunga told Independent Sport.
“Here it is treated as a past-time while in actual fact football is treated as a serious business in every other region.
“We are very much far behind the rest of the world when it comes to football. I would say we are as far back as 200 years. If you think I am lying just eavesdrop on conversations happening in the corridors, people are saying the players nowadays are playing for whistles of appreciation from the crowds and not money (vari kutambira miridzo vana ava).
“The youngsters are struggling, they are failing to make ends meet that is why you see players continuing to play way after their peak because there are no investments to talk about. The remuneration is just a mockery.”
Chunga was speaking during the Chunga Academy week-long holiday coaching programme at Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield, Harare.
The camp was attended by Harare City juniors - both boys and girls.
Waddilove High School from Mashonaland East province and players from the surrounding communities also attended.
He emphasised the importance of taking academics seriously before one thinks of extra-curricular activities, such as football.
“Our thrust is to back the academic talents of players with football and not the other way round. We want these future stars to be educated first then we enrol them for football because with education one can always have a fallback position,” Chunga added.
“You cannot do that when your football career prematurely ends, maybe through a horrific injury. You may struggle to make ends meet with the situation obtaining in our professional football at the moment."
The former Warriors captain implored authorities to organise more game-time for budding footballers.
“On average the kids are playing two days of football the whole year in schools where they spend much of their time in class. They train for (zonal tournament), and if they are lucky to make it for the districts, they only play two round robin matches and get knocked out of the tournament,” Chunga said.
“That will be it for the whole term, no more football will be played again at that school.
“This scenario has often led to students shunning football to look for sporting disciplines that are played the whole year round. So, for us to produce players for the national team or those who can fit into foreign leagues such as Europe, it is more of a mission impossible,” he added. — Staff Writer.