Bulawayo schools select football squad denied Visas

By Tichaona Sibanda
18 July 2006

The BBC reported Tuesday that a senior town official in Aberdeen Scotland was urging the Foreign Office to relax visa rules after an under-14 football team from Zimbabwe was refused entry.

Bulawayo Schools Select claimed it was told it could not attend Aberdeen's International Football Festival due to fears the group would abscond. John Reynolds said a number of the city’s multi-cultural events had been disrupted by ‘over-zealous’ rules.

Reynolds, who is a councillor in the city, said it is really up to the Foreign Office to ease up a little and change their rules.

‘I've seen this year in, year out when groups have been turned away from coming to Aberdeen. It's disappointing, particularly for those kids who were looking forward to coming to Aberdeen.’

Natty Zvimba, a UK based sports analyst said the Home Office’s reluctance to issue visas to sports personalities from Zimbabwe could be as a result of last year’s disastrous Highlanders-Caps United tour to the UK. During that trip six players from Caps United absconded and went underground in the UK.

‘The actions of those who absconded during that trip obviously had serious repercussions for individual and sports teams intending to visit the the UK,’ Zvimba said.

More than 20 teams from nine countries are taking part in the festival.
The director of the Aberdeen International Football Festival, Gordon Naismith, said the games were about more than just football.

‘While football is the nucleus, it’s about knocking down the barriers we’ve built up in mankind,’ he said.