Aston Vila’s Nakamba takes aim at promoting the girl child in Zimbabwe

Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba is planning to host a Zimbabwe Under-16 girls tournament in November, it has emerged.

Nakamba, through his foundation, The Marvelous Nakamba Foundation, revealed plans to stage their second tournament this year.

Eight teams from across the country’s ten provinces will compete in the invitational tournament.

In June, they staged their inaugural Under-17 boys’ tournament in Bulawayo, which Majesa Academy of Mutare won.

Majesa Academy beat Highlanders 2-1 in a pulsating final played at White City stadium.

NAKAMBA LOOKING TO EMPOWER GIRLS

“The Marvelous Nakamba Foundation is delighted to announce the introduction of the girls’ soccer tournament to be held in November 2022.

“The inaugural edition will consist of eight teams drawn from four of Zimbabwe’s women’s football league. 

“The participating teams have been selected and submitted by The Zimbabwe Women’s Soccer League.

“They will be revealed through the social media platforms of the foundation in due course together with the tournament dates, time and venue.

“The aim of the foundation is to assist in the nurturing of young talented girls who see themselves to be the next football stars in the near future, as well as trying to accelerate the growth of girls’ football,” reads the statement released by his foundation.

The boys’ tournament, though, was hampered by an age cheating scandal that saw Dynamos Under-17 being expelled from the competition for using over-aged players.

However, the organisers of the forthcoming tournament will be hoping to improve on their vetting processes to curb age cheating and any form of malpractice.

Meanwhile, Nakamba’s foundation has also made good strides in helping children in vulnerable communities.

Since its formation in 2019, the foundation has been consistently paying school fees for over 1000 pupils in the country.

While at the same time spearheading the construction of a state-of-the-art sports complex in Hwange, where Nakamba was born.