IT is 10am as the crowd begins to swell at Chitungwiza’s Unit G grounds.
The venue has become popular with people of all ages thronging to get free entertainment through watching five-a-side matches.
“It is now a routine, we come here at weekends to watch soccer, it is refreshing,” said Martha Marowa (36) from Unit P.
While five-a-side soccer matches are not so popular in the country, Chitungwiza residents have become acquainted with them, as the dormitory town lacks recreational facilities due to land barons who have invaded every open space including basketball courts.
Calli’s five-a-side is the brainchild of former Premier Soccer League player Callistus Keche.
In an interview with NewsDay Weekender, Keche (34) said he had to establish the five-a-side league to groom young players as well as fighting social vices.
“We are now in an era where in Chitungwiza there are no longer 11-a-side pitches. A number of them were turned into residential stands, hence identifying talent is now a problem.
We are now making use of the little space we can get and create a five-a-side soccer that we use in talent development as well as entertainment for the residents,” Keche said.
“Football attracts millions of people worldwide and has a lot of passionate supporters. So involving football in the anti-drugs campaigns is helping us a lot. We are using soccer to fight drug abuse in the community. Moreover, these games have also contributed to fighting gender-based violence in the homes.”
Five-a-side is a match played by two teams, each consisting of not more than five players on the pitch at one given time. Squads can consist of a maximum of eight players (three substitutes). The game is officially played with four outfield players and a goalkeeper per team. Formations and positions are set by each team.
“I used to be a footballer and played for PSL sides Eagles, Kiglon and Gunners. I discovered that in football powerhouse nations they play either five-a-side, beach soccer or street soccer.
“But here in Chitungwiza, despite nurturing talent, we are also using the platform to fight social vices. Health practitioners have also capitalised on the gatherings here to conduct HIV testing as well as awareness campaigns,” added Keche.
Zimbabwe is currently fighting drug and substance abuse among youths following the influx of drugs like crystal meth and illicit alcoholic drinks being sold on the streets by dealers.The soccer matches target all age groups.
“Our target is the entire community and age groups, we have different age groups and activities. We got the academy side — where we train youth from our community to be of good quality and professional players.
“We have the aerobics group, where people from our surrounding areas come to the pitch for fitness training and this is all for free,” Keche said.Keche revealed that he is currently getting sponsorship from a former footballer Tinashe Makwasha
“We have five-a-side leagues that have already begun. The other league comprises those above 35 years and the other one for those under the age of 17. So far we have a former footballer who is now an entrepreneur and is sponsoring the league. Makwasha also gave us prizes and medals for the winners last season.
“He grew up in our area and is giving us all the support. We also have Ziyaduma Abattoir that is assisting us with borehole water to maintain the pitch. There is also a roofing company that donates balls to us. We are still hunting for more partnerships and sponsorship,” he said.
Keche said there is a need for more funding for his dreams to be realised.“Our pitch has a lawn and given the water crisis in Chitungwiza it is very difficult to maintain it. We need a well-wisher to assist us with an artificial turf. Moreover, the number of teams is growing daily hence we need more land to establish more pitches,” he said.
Keche this week received an award from cooking oil manufacturing company Zimgold as a community hero. Some of the teams participating in the five-a-side league include Porkshop, Gondo Stars, Gazebo and Apparent FC, among others.
