NEW: Joy for Binga Junior Football League as ZIFA donates equipment

Online Reporter

THERE was joy for the Binga Junior Football League when they entertained Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) officials who visited the rural area to hand over training equipment procured under the FIFA Forward 2.0 project.

FIFA Forward 2.0 seeks to promote the game at grassroots level.

This is mostly done by setting up junior leagues in all provinces.

On Wednesday, budding footballers (15 years and under) from Binga became the first recipients of the equipment from the ZIFA Normalisation Committee.

Overall, 34 teams received football equipment worth close to US$10 000.

The equipment included a full playing kit, two sets of soccer bibs, kit bags, nine balls for training as well as one match ball.

Binga Junior Football League chairperson Pride Ngwenya welcomed the donation, which he believes will assist in their development initiatives in the district.

“We are really excited and grateful to FIFA and the ZIFA Normalisation Committee for the gesture they have shown to Binga Junior Football League by donating the football equipment.

“We started the junior league a long time ago; only until today we have never had any support from ZIFA.

“The equipment that we have received today will go a long way in football development, particularly the grassroots,” said Ngwenya.

He is hopeful the ZIFA gesture will inspire young players from Binga to gun for places in the national teams.

“ZIFA have played their part. Now it is up to us to utilise the equipment, and I promise you that in a few years’ time, we would have progressed in terms of developing players.

“As Binga community, we are going to work tirelessly to ensure that we will have at least a player from the grassroots and our league to represent one of the junior football national teams.”

ZIFA Normalisation Committee member Rosemary Mugadza said the local football mother body wanted to ensure that all centres in the country benefit from the equipment.

“I do not think that you have received such equipment in the past, and I am here to tell everyone that the intended beneficiaries of the project across the country will benefit from this project.

“I want to tell you that as Normalisation Committee we have desisted from being Harare, Bulawayo centric, but instead we are committed that there is 100 percent development in most of the remote areas,” she said.

Mugadza also wants girls to benefit.

“When I was going through the list of beneficiaries, what surprised me was that of all the teams benefiting, it is just male and there is not a women’s team.

“In the Normalisation Committee, I represent women’s football, that is my area and passion, hence I want to challenge the Binga community to ensure that there is women football development in the area.”