A budding Zimbabwean Academy, Real Saints, is set to tour South Africa from 17-21 August to measure progress while also creating partnerships with top-flight clubs.
For this one, the Harare-based academy will play in a mini-tournament with teams from the Tshwane Provincial League, with Pretoria Athletic hosting them.
Over the years, Zimbabwe’s developmental football has stagnated owing to many factors, including the nosediving economy.
However, the launch of the Real Betis academy two years ago has awakened youth football in the Southern African nation, with several academies being revived while new ones have also emerged.
Formed in 2015, Real Saints academy is on a massive recruitment drive to feed at least 50 players into the topflight leagues across the Cosafa region by 2024.
Academy technical director Collin Murimi said they had taken a new trajectory designed to inspire upcoming players by exposing them to internationally certified standards. South Africa has emerged as a perfect destination.
Murimi reckons exposure will also shape their player’s behaviour on and off the field. First, Real Saints will tour Mozambique from 10 to 14 August.
“The vision of Real Saints Football Academy is to scout, recruit and develop players that will perform on world platforms.
“As we all know, the South African Premier League is a desired destination for many Zimbabwean players, so that’s a starting point with Europe being the ultimate goal.
“We must create relationships with clubs in South Africa because they have the standard, and we have quality players that can flourish there,” Murimi told FARPost.
He added:” All we want to give is exposure because it is key in the development process, especially at a young age.
“Most importantly, these tours help us synergise with professional clubs we intend to feed. We also have a lot to learn from them because they have been in this business for long.
“We will play junior football teams in the Tshwane Provincial League with Pretoria Athletic being the host team.”
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