... to Conduct Course for Newly-Appointed Coaches
Harare -- FIFA instructor Ben Koufie will take his mission to breathe life into Zimbabwe's development programme when he conducts a three-day course for newly-appointed national coaches at Prince Edward School next week, writes Augustine Hwata.
The veteran Ghanaian coach and administrator is in Zimbabwe on a 90-day mission to set up structures that will ensure development programmes drawn up by Zifa are implemented.
Koufie has been holding marathon workshops, seminars and courses around the country in a programme funded by the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee through the Olympic Solidarity fund.
The former Warriors coach will, however get an opportunity to impart some of the knowledge gained from years of working across the continent when he conducts a course specifically for the recently appointed national teams coaches which starts on Tuesday.
Zifa last month named Monomotapa's Norman Mapeza as the Under-23 head coach with Highlanders' Methembe Ndlovu appointed to take charge of the Under-20 team, Rodwell Dhlakama was retained as Under-17 mentor and CAPS FC's Takaendesa Jongwe for the Under-15 team.
The association also appointed Moses Chunga as Mighty Warriors mentor, unheralded Alex Mudirira as the women's Under-23 coach while former Mighty Warriors assistant Langton Giwa was named the Under-20 gaffer.
It is those coaches who are expected to attend the course at Prince Edward.
The course is also part of Zifa's grand action plan of laying a platform for the Warriors' bid for qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the various African championships for the men and women's teams.
Since arriving in Zimbabwe at the beginning of September, Koufie, with the assistance of interim Zimbabwe Soccer Coaches Association chairman and Fifa/Caf instructor Nelson Matongorere, has met stakeholders in various provinces.
The duo, however, had to revise their schedule for the whirlwind tour last week after Koufie was called to be one of the resources persons at a Caf women coaches' course currently underway in South Africa.
Matongorere said the managers of all the national teams would also meet with Koufie who is expected to return on Monday.
In naming the national coaches, Zifa also appointed Sharrif Mussa as the general manager of all national teams before announcing the various managers who will work under him in those sides.
These are Tawonei Nhacha who wil manage the Under-23 team, Bhekithemba "Far" Ndlovu who has been elevated from the Under-17s to the Under-20 team, NASH head in charge football Austin Hakuvanhu who comes in as Under-17 manager and Clayton Munemo who will manage the Mighty Warriors.
"We are going to resume with the Zifa action plan on Tuesday when we conduct a course for all the national team head coaches and managers.
"This course is meant to apprise the newly appointed coaches and managers of their expectations at national teams level.
"We are also going to dwell on how the coaches will present themselves or dress when going out on national team duties," Matongorere said.
Matongorere said they would also want to come up with a common understanding for all the national team coaches as well as proposing the terms of references for the managers.
"There is need to come up with a Zimbabwean philosophy for our football.
"The idea is to synchronise all national teams so that players who start playing at Under-15 easily graduate into the Under-17 and will find the same system at Under-20 until they are with the senior side," said Matongorere. After meeting the national team coaches, Koufie and Matongorere will hold a 12-day Level Four course at PE.
"This is to upgrade those people with Level Three," he said.
On December 3 to 5, the Zifa programme will continue with a sports medicine and sports administrators' course for PSL, Division One and Division Two clubs.
Koufie is then set to visit Chinhoyi, Bindura and Gwanda for a stakeholders' meeting before winding up his revised programme on December 15.
The programme had originally been pencilled to end during the first week of December.
