New direction for Zim football . . . as grassroots training programme launched

SOME moments in a football nation’s story pass without spectacle, yet they quietly set the direction of everything that follows. The launch of the BancABC Roots Impact Programme is one of those moments. It arrives without floodlights or fanfare, but its true impact will be felt long after the applause fades and the headlines move on.

When the current Executive Committee assumed office at the Zimbabwe Football Association, we made a clear and deliberate pledge — the rebuilding of Zimbabwean football would start at the base of the pyramid and move upwards. We committed to ending a culture of shortcuts, fragmentation and seasonal development and to replacing it with systems that are planned, structured and sustained. Roots Impact is the clearest demonstration yet of that promise being honoured.

The true measure of a football nation is not found only in packed stadiums or high-profile international fixtures. Those moments are outcomes, not starting points. A nation’s football health is revealed on school grounds, community fields and modest training pitches. That is where habits are formed, talent is first identified and belief takes root.