{"id":12778,"date":"2026-03-16T08:42:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T08:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=12778"},"modified":"2026-03-16T08:42:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T08:42:47","slug":"zifa-opens-nationwide-registration-drive-for-junior-and-youth-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=12778","title":{"rendered":"ZIFA Opens Nationwide Registration Drive for Junior and Youth Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Siziba Thando<br>Sports reporter<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has officially called upon all junior and youth teams across the country to register with their provincial bodies, marking the start of a structured season aimed at unearthing the nation&#8217;s next generation of football stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The registration process, announced by the ZIFA Media &amp; Communications Department on Monday, is the crucial first step for teams wishing to participate in a trio of major development initiatives: the Talent Development Scheme, the Banc ABC Roots Impact Programme, and the prestigious ZIFA Munhumutapa Challenge Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a statement, ZIFA emphasized that this registration drive is about more than just administrative formalities. It is a fundamental move to strengthen the grassroots structures of Zimbabwean football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This registration process forms an important step in strengthening junior and youth football structures and ensuring that young players are given a clear, competitive pathway to develop, participate and be identified through organised competition,&#8221; read the statement<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To ensure a standardized and modern approach, all teams will be registered according to FIFA&#8217;s official age-group categories, which are designed to promote fair and age-appropriate competition. The categories open for registration are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7 U13: (Boys only)<br>\u00b7 U15: (Boys and Girls)<br>\u00b7 U17: (Boys and Girls)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This structure also highlights ZIFA&#8217;s commitment to the growth of women&#8217;s football, with dedicated categories for girls in the U15 and U17 age groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Teams eager to participate in these development leagues are urged to act swiftly. They should contact their respective ZIFA Provincial Associations directly to obtain full details on the specific registration requirements and procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the clock ticking, the association has set a firm deadline. All registrations must be completed by Tuesday, 31 March 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This nationwide call to register signals the beginning of an exciting period for young footballers in Zimbabwe, offering them a platform to showcase their talent and embark on a potential journey to the top of the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FOLLOW US FOR REAL-TIME UPDATES:<br>\u00b7 X (Twitter): @ZimGbc<br>\u00b7 Instagram: @ZimGBCNews<br>\u00b7 TikTok: @ZimGBCNews_01<br>\u00b7 Facebook: Zim GBC News<br>\u00b7 YouTube: Zim GBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Get real-time alerts on WhatsApp:<br>+263 773 820 323<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Siziba ThandoSports reporter The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has officially called upon all junior and youth teams across the country to register with their provincial bodies, marking the start of&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12778"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12780,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12778\/revisions\/12780"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}