The Bindura University of Science Education’s (BUSE) National Sports Academy has unearthed a footballing protégé in Marlon Zuruvi.
The 12-year-old was recently incorporated into the academy’s roaster after running rings around defenders at the National Association of Primary Heads (NAPH) finals held in Harare at Allen Wilson High School early this year.
So skilled is Marlon that he was recently handed his first national duty call by the Under 15 Zimbabwe national coach Russell Munyaradzi for the CAF African Schools Football Championship, COSAFA Qualifier tournament.
Despite being only 12, Marlon was called up to represent Zimbabwe at the tournament which was held at Gateway High School in Harare.
The tourney comprised of boys and girls’ teams from all SADC countries. Despite initially being given the green light to represent Zimbabwe, Marlon was unfortunately told before kick-off that he was too young to play for the Under 15.
Under-15 coach Russell Munyaradzi expressed his disappointment as he was looking forward to unleashing Marlon at the tournament.
“The communication came late informing us that 12-year-olds were not allowed to feature. Marlon is a very talented player and I was sure he was going to impress at this tournament,” said coach Munyaradzi.
He added, “Together with former Warriors forward Edward Sadomba’s son El Shaddai, these boys were going to wreak havoc on the opposing defense.”
Munyaradzi is no stranger to identifying talent. He was pivotal in the formative years of Zimbabwean rugby export Tendai ‘Beast’ Mutawarira as his high school coach. He is a well-rounded coach with credentials in coaching soccer, rugby, cricket, basketball, and music.
Marlon is set to enroll for Form 1 at Chipundura High School under an Academy scholarship. He is one of 11 new soccer talents identified by the Academy who will be enrolled at Chipindura. They will train under the watchful eye of Academy coaches who include international professionals from around Japan and Cuba under government-to-government technical cooperation.
