Tadious Manyepo — Northern Region Division One Soccer League side Harare City could see their scholarship deal with Waddilove High School collapse following the recent dismissal of its anchors.
The two institutions twinned in 2018 when Harare City were still in the Premiership with disadvantaged but talented Harare City academy players getting scholarships at the Marondera-based school.
Harare City chief executive officer Tafadzwa Bhasera and club marketing manager Osborne Maranda, who was the schools sports director before landing at the municipality team, negotiated for the twinning arrangement.
Technical staff members from Harare City would occasionally coach the school team, whose Under-15 side even reached the semi-finals of the Copa Coca-Cola tournament in 2018, having qualified for the national finals for their first time ever. But the duo of Bhasera and Maranda together with chairman Alois Masepe were recently dismissed, throwing the Waddilove arrangement into disarray.
The same executive had also sealed a similar deal with Rufaro High in Masvingo where young Harare City girls' footballers were being enrolled. Maranda told The Herald that he wished to see the deals continue for the benefit of football. "Yes, it is true that Tafadzwa Bhasera and I spearheaded the twinning of Harare City Football Club and Waddilove High School. We would take our academy players to Waddilove where they would learn free of charge or on a minimal tuition depending on individuals.
"These are the same players who would form the core of Waddilove High teams and perform wonders. "Our technical team at Harare City would also help out in coaching the school teams and the performances by the teams have been very amazing," said Maranda.
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"My wish is to see the deal stay beyond me and Bhasera. We used to hold end of year tournaments for council primary schools from which we would also pick talented Grade 7 learners for enrolment at Waddilove.
"We had just struck a similar arrangement with Rufaro High in Masvingo for the girl child. The deals have been helping the vulnerable kids a lot.
"We have about 20 girls currently at Rufaro High and about the same number at Waddilove. Some of the boys who went through the same system in 2018 have already joined the Harare City senior team and others are playing at other clubs".
But an insider told The Herald yesterday that the twinning deals are already as good as over with the dismissal of the proponents.
"Apparently school authorities at Rufaro High and Waddilove trusted the anchors of the deals, which are the dismissed executive members. As it stands, those deals could be over," said the source. Harare City have built a solid reputation in grassroots development with most of the players whom they had at Harare City Cubs now playing for different teams across the country.
They also recruited most of the players who played for Chemhanza High School Under-15 who won the Nash Copa Coca-Cola some 10 years ago. They include Jerry Chipangura, Tatenda Tumba, Learnmore Muyambo, Hastings Chapusha, Takudzwa Muvirimi and Kelvin Shangiwa, who all went on to play in the Premiership.
