Soccer academies should focus on nurturing future strikers

Editor,That Jimmy Gatete is planning to open a soccer academy is good news to Rwandans, especially if he is looking to grooming youngsters who can go on and do or even surpass what he did for this country in his heydays.Let us be honest, ever since Gatete’s sensational goals against the likes of Ghana and Uganda which fired Amavubi to their maiden appearance at the Nations Cup – in 2004 in Tunisia –we have not seen a player of his finesse or at least with the same impact on the country’s football.That he is making it back to actively get involved with nurturing local talent could be what the country’s football has waited for in a long time.Ever since Gatete hung his boots, the number of fans turning up for Amavubi games has only dwindled, and not without a reason, because we have failed to cut it even in regional championships like Cecafa. Hope Jimmy brings back some of us to the stadium to watch the national team.Richard Muhire, Kabeza Reaction to the story, “Gatete to open football academy on Christmas” (The New Times, December 21)

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Soccer academies should focus on nurturing future strikers