The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
EFFORTS by football legends, Lawrence Phiri, Douglas Mloyi and Gibson Homela to nurture the next generation of football stars has been given a boost with their football school being registered as an academy.
Christened the Legends School of Excellence, the training school received confirmation from Zifa and the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) that they have been formally registered to work with local education institutions in a drive to produce astute footballers.
Phiri said while work they had been hoping to put in place this year is on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the formalisation of the academy would enable them to confidently engage stakeholders they want to bring on board in their quest to develop talent. He said they intend engaging in a partnership with Northlea High School to house players at the school as they implement a holistic programme for the academy.
“As you are aware, we need to incorporate the educational aspect for our school to be considered a complete academy hence we will partner Northlea as we intend securing bursaries for deserving players. We are also in an agreement with SOS Children’s Village School to use their facilities while also coaching their football teams,” said the former Highlanders player and manager.
Lofty, as Phiri is popularly known, said they are working under the banner, Legends Sports Development Academy, an entity that incorporates various sporting areas including consultancy, sports tourism and also has a sportswear manufacturing and distribution section.
He revealed they had already planned a four-team football fiesta in Victoria Falls under the sports tourism entity, featuring two local teams, one from Botswana and another from Zambia, but the event had to be shelved due to the disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus.
Phiri said under sports consultancy they were aiming to undersee the training of coaches and they have already held a session that involved 80 teachers from Bulawayo schools in partnership with National Association of Primary Heads (Naph).
