The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
HEAD of the Real Betis Academy in Zimbabwe, Gerald Sibanda is in Zanzibar to attend the Tanzania Football Summit.
Sibanda is an invited guest at the summit which started on Wednesday and ends on Friday. He described the gathering as a great platform to interact with regional and international football stakeholders.
Former Chelsea coach Avram Grant, Cameroon great Samuel Eto, South African Premier Soccer League officials and representatives from La Liga are attending the summit.
“A great platform to meet other regional and International Football stakeholders. The aim is to strengthen existing relations as well as to build networks that will allow our Projects and Footballers in Zimbabwe and Africa to be a success and find pathways in the professional game.
Zanzibar and the Football summit is a meeting place, to exchange ideas, find synergies and create the future we want in the Football Eco System,’’ he said.
Sibanda sees the summit as an opportunity to network with football scouts and get them to visit the Betis Academy in Zimbabwe.
“I am here early to network with International Football Scouts who are here in the hope to bring them to our Academy in Zimbabwe and also experience some of the local talent in the Zimbabwe Premiership.
This is my message to them and was very happy to meet Avram Grant amongst many other top delegates expected to arrive for the summit,’’ said Sibanda.
In August 2020, Spanish club Real Betis announced a deal with Sibanda’s Athletes Sphere Management to establish the first ever academy on the African continent. The academy started off in Harare but is spreading its wings to other parts of the country with Bulawayo now also a beneficiary.
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