Ricky Zililo in Masvingo
THE National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) has courted German expatriates to instil technical expertise on their ambitious grassroots development programme set to be rolled out before the end of this year.

Speaking on the sidelines of the third edition of the Sports Leaders Institute of Zimbabwe (SLIZ) Winter Camp at Great Zimbabwe in Masvingo on Saturday, NAAZ president Tendai Tagara said the development programme would start in September.

“We’re working flat out to ensure that we develop athletics starting from the grassroots stages. At the moment we’re engaged in negotiations with some German nationals that are keen on assisting us with the training of athletes at grassroots level. They’ll train our trainers as well as athletes in the country,” said Tagara.

He said NAAZ, which is regarded as one of the best administered national sports associations by the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), would also ensure that athletes from rural schools benefit from the programme.

“This grassroots development programme will run for four years and will cover all the corners of the country. These experts will work with coaches from every province; meaning that they will go around the country imparting their expertise. During the process we will train a number of teachers that spend most of the time with the children, equipping them with changing coaching trends so that they in turn give the kids proper coaching,” Tagara said.

He said NAAZ’s grassroots development had been modelled to complement government’s plans of introducing physical education and the sport syllabus to be rolled out in 2017.

Through the programme, Tagara believes NAAZ will be able to identify talent at infant stages and nurture them with the hope of producing stars that will fly Zimbabwe’s flag high on the international arena.

The NAAZ boss said negotiations for funding of the four-year programme were at an advanced stage.

“As NAAZ, we pride ourselves in being one of the few associations whose books are in order and that opens opportunities for corporate support. We are negotiating with a potential backer for the programme and are hopeful that this initiative will get funding,” Tagara said.

 

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