Talent Chimutambgi
Youth Interactive Writer
Young soccer aspirants for a local football academy, FC Porto Dragon Force have revealed that the team will travel to Portugal.
This was revealed when Youth Interactive visited the training session on Thursday where young boys and girls are taking part.
The trip which is scheduled for July will bring exposure to young boys and girls.
FC Porto Dragon Force is targeting children between the ages of three to 20 years.
In an interview with the coaches, Bridget Chandamali said the country is making significant strides in giving the girl child an opportunity to sail in the soccer space.
“Soccer was a highly male-dominated game, and the barriers were being broken to encompass women.”
“In Zimbabwe, there is now a significant rise in the number of girls playing soccer. We now have a premier league for women’s soccer, a development which highlights the girl child recognition in the area of sport, particularly soccer,” said Chandamali.
Chandamali, a female coach started playing for Gunners and went to the COSAFA Cup that was held in Angola, and got injured before she started pursuing her coaching career.
“I played for the under-20 national team before she got injured in 2010 during the games that were held in Nigeria. Since that period after I got injured, my passion for soccer receded, it wasn’t that much,” she said.
“I started to pursue my coaching career in 2017 even though I have been playing soccer here and there. Now I’m here at this academy coaching girls’ soccer,” said Chandamali.
FC Porto Dragon Force head coach Alving Ndunduma said the development was critical for young children as it would give them exposure.
Ndunduma who is a nephew to the late yesteryear soccer veteran, Stanley Ndunduma, they were committed to upscale the standards of soccer in the country.
“I’m the head coach of the under-18 squad team. We have been playing since last year in 2023. The squads comprise under 15, 13,9, and 11.
We opened a developmental school here in Zimbabwe with the thrust of talent identification.
“We are working with FC Porto Dragon Force with some coaches from Portugal here teaching us about the methodology of FC Porto, the training methods, and the value of the brand.”
“We will have a tour to Portugal probably in July where all FC Porto networks including Canada, Brazil, and Portugal. We are trying to give our youngsters exposure, and it’s a very big project for us,” said Ndunduma. Ndunduma has a track record in soccer and has played soccer at the national level.
“I started playing for young Black Rhinos FC where my uncle Stanley Ndunduma invited me when I was very young, and I’m a product of junior development myself. I’m quite familiar with how it feels and you should rise from the grassroots level to the top.
“I also played for the national under 23, so for me, it’s an honour to impart the knowledge that I gathered over the years to the youngsters,” he said.
Ndunduma said, that currently, they have pupils from across Harare and are planning to recruit all over the country.
“We have kids from all over, including those from Borrowdale, Helensvale, and Hatcliffe as well as Budiriro, Chitungwiza, Mbare, and Mufakose. Our kids keep on coming, but we usually have our trials in January. We are also working with schools,” he said. “We partnered with High Achievers School, so we have several kids from the school and the academy. We will try to recruit as we go and we are looking forward to covering the country’s 10 provinces to try to give our children an opportunity and scouting for the best talents to develop our soccer,” said Ndunduma.
Source: https://www.herald.co.zw/f-c-porto-dragon-force-soccer-aspirants-eyes-portugal-trip/
.