Musanhu’s ambitious 2034 WC dream

Tadious Manyepo

Zimpapers Sports Hub

WALTER “Ringers” Musanhu has the world under his feet.

During his playing days at Motor Action, the 40-year-old wasn’t the best.

Maybe he was unfortunate because he then faced the inconvenience of being compared to his brother Chamu, a key figure in Dynamos’ historic CAF Champions League final feat in 1998.

But Walter always exhibited those traits of greatness.

With several teams vying to sign him almost two decades ago, the lanky man decided to go developmental in unchartered waters of Beijing, China.

Despite the impediments and hurdles, Musanhu managed to stitch together what has now become a standard-bearing academy, Jadel Football Academy in this country.

It’s now a flourishing project where children from different nationalities converge to speak the universal language of football.

Musanhu has won international awards and is now a global figure recognised for promoting cross-cultural pollination using the most beautiful game.

He has since set the Zimbabwean branch of the same in his hood of Mbare, with players from this nursery getting the opportunity to represent the country in Germany and China over the past two years.

It is the success story posted by JFA Zimbabwe that has now given Musanhu the belief that if the right systems are put in place, the country cannot just eventually qualify for the World Cup but can actually win it.

Musanhu has since put the dream in motion, targeting the 12-years-and-under age group for grooming into the national structure.

He has set out plans to establish JFA projects in all the country’s 10 provinces, with the ultimate aim being the 2034 World Cup qualification.

“There is a need to prioritise grassroots development in the country. We have the potential, but we don’t do things in a proper manner. Let’s start from the bottom going up and see if we fail,” declared Musanhu.

“We have since started the journey that will culminate in our qualification for the World Cup in 2034. I can even give you guarantees. We will go and set up the JFA academy in each province and can even do so in every district. We will identify and mould the youngsters into the ideal players that can compete at a global level.

“We will have a huge pool of players who we will take to international tournaments in Europe and other continents. They will get used to modern-day competition and build confidence.

“At the end of the next seven or eight years, they will be up there, and we will start enjoying a period of visibility, if not dominance, across the world.

“We will not leave any kid out of this project. We want to turn all that potential into reality. I believe in winning, and we will win.”

Musanhu is one of the 39 candidates running for the six available ZIFA executive member posts in Saturday’s ZIFA elections.

Stakeholders feel Musanhu should be voted into the board for him to fully implement his 2034 World Cup vision.

The JFA director will supervise the seventh edition of the JFA annual Under-12 tournament at Belgravia Sports Club on Saturday.

The tournament will see over 10 teams, including JFA China, taking to the field.

The JFA China team arrived in the country last Thursday and started the tour of Southern Africa, travelling to Zambia and Namibia to learn about the general culture from this part of the world.

“We have always been doing it and developing talent. I think we will soon start to nationalise the tournament because this is our 2034 project. This is the seventh edition of the event, and we are very happy to continue doing this.

“We are saying the future is now, and we are mostly concentrating on 2013 kids, added Musanhu.

“We are going to take a shift before we globalise more. We want to reach out to all the 10 provinces, so our main target for this year is to open the boys and girls JFA in Bulawayo and reach out to all the provinces. We have a long-term plan in place, and that is what we are working towards.

“We have a team from China, and they are touring the region right now to learn more about it. Come Saturday, the extravaganza will be massive at Belgravia.”