Arguably the countrys most celebrated player Peter Ndlovu has called on former footballers to get together and find ways they could help to uplift local football standards.
Speaking after taking part in a fundraising football match between musicians and former footballers at Rufaro Stadium on Sunday, Ndlovu said the football legends still had a lot to offer.
Most of the proceeds from the match will be channelled towards junior football development while part of them will go to Freddy Chimombe, the son of music legend James Chimombe. Freddy is said to be living in squalid conditions at Hopley Farm.
From todays event here you can see that we no longer have the legs to play football competitively, but we still have the heart to entertain football fans and help out upcoming players.
As former players, I think we still have a duty to play in developing soccer, be it at Zifa, a developmental leagues or at club levels.
We have former players who are doing that already and they should be applauded for that. But the big question is, are we doing enough? We should come together like we did today on a regular basis.
We should find time to sit down as a group and find ways we can help our soccer to grow. I support this initiative by Chipaz (Partson Chimbodza, the organiser of the match), its worthwhile and for a worthy cause. He should be given full support, said Ndlovu.
The former Warriors skipper, who has 100 caps and a record 38 goals under his belt in national colours, bemoaned lack of vibrant development structures in the country and said it contributed to the poor performance by the senior national soccer team.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
The structures are there, but they are not enough. We need to do more if we are to progress as a nation. We need to have a plan for our juniors like other countries such as Ghana have done. We should come up with a plan.
These are things we need to achieve in the next four years. Even if it means withdrawing from international competitions and focusing on serious junior development, we can achieve more that way.
We have a lot of talent to match all the other nations, but we lack that development aspect.
The Warriors failed to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations which got underway in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon on Saturday. They face Burkina Faso in the opening qualifier for next years edition which will be held in South Africa.
Despite the abundance of talent in the country, Zifa has lacked direction in the organisation of national teams as evidenced by the failure to have the Under-17 and Under-20 teams taking part in the Caf youth games.
The Under-23 team only played in the All-Africa Games qualifiers, but were not entered for the Olympic Games.
The soccer legends won the fundraising match 4-1. Agent Sawu scored a brace while Lloyd Chitembwe and Gilbert Mushangazhike scored the other two.
Jeys Marabini pulled one back for the musicians in a fun-filled match that attracted an estimated crowd of 15 000 people.
