BY BHEKIMPILO WEZA
A group of talented soccer players from a high flying Victoria Falls had their dreams of conquering the country shattered after the authorities failed to raise enough money to send them to the Matabeleland North provincial finals in Tsholotsho last weekend.
Ndlovu Secondary School’s senior team has for some time been dominating Hwange district schools soccer competitions, but did not get the chance to showcase their skills at a higher level because of the funding constraints.
The rural school from the outskirts of Victoria Falls had clinched the ticket to represent Hwange district in the provincial finals by beating Mosi-Oa-Tunya Secondary School 2-1.
Mbonisi Mzingwane, the school coach said his team had clinched the ticket to the provincial finals after a decade of trying.
“We were so happy that we had qualified for provincial games, and we were looking forward to the next level of competition,” Mzingwane said.
“We started mobilising resources the day we qualified, but we failed as a school and even our tourism stakeholders couldn’t come in due to economic challenges.
Mzingwane said he was hopeful that some of his players will grow to be big football stars.
“These are the likes of the likes of Mcebisi Mpala, Mike Mabololo, Benson, Thomas, Allen and the goalkeeper Mark Ncube,” he said.
The school had only managed to raise US$95 for the team’s travel expences and it will have to wait for the next year to fight again.