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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter

REAL Betis Academy Zimbabwe successfully held their first official training session in Bulawayo on Saturday.

Highlanders legend Zenzo Moyo, who leads the project in Bulawayo was impressed with the turnout on their first session.

Zenzo Moyo

“We started with the Under-19 training and it was successful. From next week we will be having other age groups as well. So far, l am impressed with how we have started,” said Moyo. So far, coaches for the Bulawayo project are the former Highlanders duo of Johannes Ngodzo and Gift Lunga (junior).

Saturday’s session saw Majaha Ndlovu being tasked with managing conditioning and the fitness of players while the special guest of the day was legendary Highlanders goalkeeper Peter “Oxo” Nkomo.

Real Betis Academy Zimbabwe’s initiative started in Harare in 2020 after the academy’ president Gerald Sibanda’s sports agency Athletes Sphere Management entered into a partnership with La Liga side Real Betis Balompie.

They went on to launch another centre in Bulawayo in March 2022 with Sibanda stating that the vision was to identify and nurture football talent across the country.

With the support of its international business development department, Real Betis are pursuing a global education project through football.

Real Betis Academy Zimbabwe Johannes Ngodzo coaching

Its objective is not just to develop new playing talents but to provide access to good education and fight against marginalisation and social exclusion in different parts of the world.

Already, more than 1 000 boys and girls outside of Spain have had the chance to train under the club’s methodology.

At the same time, by arriving in new countries and setting up such projects, the club is in a better position to develop commercial activities in these markets and expand its brand.

The club plans to launch a series of new initiatives in the African country to extend the Betis brand in Africa. Initially, it will provide hundreds of young people with an elite football education programme. — @innocentskizoe.