Walter Musanhu, a Zimbabwean football coach based in Beijing, emphasizes football as a universal language that unites people across diverse cultural backgrounds.
Musanhu works for the Jadel Football Academy, a Zimbabwe-owned, China-based top football nursery established in 2019 with branches in the Chinese capital of Beijing and the Zimbabwean capital of Harare.
"My name is Walter Musanhu. I came to China all because of football, mainly developing the kids at grassroots level. I started playing in the streets with some friends. I signed my first professional contract at the age of 16. I got a chance to go to Austria. I signed the contract there, but the misfortune happened. I got an injury there and that was a life-scaring injury. And it's kind of like expelled me from playing football," he recounted.
Returning to Zimbabwe, Musanhu saw many young players struggling to break into professional football, including the premier league. This prompted him to shift his focus to coaching and continue contributing to the sport.
Later, an invitation from a friend in China presented Musanhu with the chance to play there. This opportunity made him realize that even though he is no longer an active player, he still can and wanted to contribute to China's football community.
His early success coaching two young players, who and their parents appreciated his methods, led him to Beijing. There, his coaching philosophy of fostering self-reliance in trainees aligns with parental expectations.
"I have my own ways of coaching, of nurturing the kids. Because I'm not just a coach. When I look at myself, I'm a role model to kids. I' m a mentor. I'm a teacher. I'm a coach. I'm a father and I'm a mother," he said.
"Football is a universal language. Once you put that ball inside the field, the kids are always anticipating 'what does the coach want to do with us?' And they always are eager to learn. Whatever I'm instructing these kids is something which I learned when I was young," he continued.
"Training with my coach is tough, always, because he expects the best from us and pushes us to work hard. But I think sometimes it's a little bit fun, and sometimes it's serious and it's a mix of all. I think he's a really good coach," said Gary, a trainee at Jadel Football Academy.
"He [Musanhu] was really encouraging to me at first when I first joined here and he allowed me to play lots of competitions, such as going to other places to play and such as the league on Sunday. I had lots of experiences to be able to be more confident," said Elsa, another trainee.
The academy is now expanding its cultural exchange programs, arranging trips for trainees to countries like Spain and the United States.
"We want to bring this environment whereby we want to have a Chinese culture involved with the Zimbabwean culture, with the Western culture, but mixed together. We hope more Western kids, more European kids they can learn from the Chinese culture," Musanhu said.
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