The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
IT is every young football player’s dream to grace the biggest stages of the game with moves to Europe playing over and over in footballers’ heads.
The path to Europe has not been an easy one, with the continent being the destination for top talent. However, local youngsters could get the chance to knock on the world’s most popular leagues as German scout, Tobias Zehetleitner has expressed interest in shipping talented young footballers to his home country.
Zehetleitner moved to South Africa three years ago where he worked with a development academy to produce young talent and give them opportunities in Europe and is now also eager to fish out emerging talent in Zimbabwe.
Zehetleitner, who was in the country a fortnight ago, is a director at Phyllis FC, an academy based in Tembisa, Gauteng that has set a vision of moving players between the ages of 15 and 16 to Germany and then other leagues in Europe.
“I know there are a lot of footballers moving to SA from here (Zimbabwe), but I believe we can also find young gems that we can move straight to competitive leagues in Europe.
We started the academy three years ago, we have two big sports grounds close to a school with proper physio facilities and we offer scholarships to gifted players.
If we find a player in Zimbabwe that meets the qualities needed in Europe such as big physique, fast and good technical ability we will rope them in. We feel the local players would have high chances of success if they move at a young age,” he said.
During his visit, Zehetleitner had the chance to watch local academy, Young Flying Stars Academy (YFSA) in action and revealed there are plans to work closely with the outfit in recruiting and refining local talent.
He said they intend to also assist the academy refine its training programmes through technical assistance and training of coaches to ensure they produce players that can fit the mould of those demanded in Europe.
Zehetleitner, who is a director of an annual football festival, Philly’s Games, said they are ready to host Zimbabwean teams at the annual developmental sports tourney to expose them to football beyond the borders.
The participation will also be used as a platform to select players that would move to their academy, Phyllis FC.
The Philly’s Games were established in 1992 as a contest between two teams held in December but a superb response saw a gradual increase in the number of teams.
Zehetleitner revealed the tournament, held annually in December, has consistently attracted scouts from the Absa Premiership over the years and has resulted in some players moving to the topflight.
“There are several players who were discovered at the Philly’s Games and these include Thabo Mooki, Lerato Chabangu, Lebogang Phiri, Vuyo Mere, Benson Mhlongo, Gerorge Maluleka, Thabo Matlaba, Mpho Makola, Teko Modise, Tsepo Masilela and Themba Zwane among others.
“The tournament presents an opportunity for exposure for Zimbabwe teams, travelling and playing in a different country will certainly give them a new experience they can learn from but again with the numerous scouts from various clubs around the South Africa,” he said.
“I managed to watch the Young Flying Stars and I think it’s a good project with hungry and passionate players who show eagerness in their play.
I love the focus they exhibited and I think the structure of the project will prove beneficial in the long run as they practice frequently.”
Zehetleitner was invited to Zimbabwe by local businessman who is also YFSA benefactor Peter Mubi.
Mubi said they are aiming at getting emerging players to move beyond South Africa, which has recently become the top export destination for local players.
“We want players to go to Europe and not just end in South Africa, where unfortunately some have made a U-turn. We believe they can go further hence we are creating links with European contacts, recently we also brought in (Clemence) Westerhof and we are working on producing players at the academy who will make the grade.
We are also aiming at building good facilities and we believe this can be done easily if we can secure partnerships in Europe,” he said.
