The Bull Ring

Last Wednesday I arrived back in England after a life-changing four months in Mozambique, with a suitcase full of clothes and a head full of unbelievable memories. Originally I had planned to finish this blog, however I have since decided that I will continue to update on the development of the team and the youth players, and finish posting on my experiences when I was there.

First, the most spectacular of the venues we coached in by a country mile. If I knew more about the history of the area as a Bull Ring I could comment, but it's development and use as a training pitch seems more romantic.

What I do know is that in it's time, the Bull Ring was a hugely famous arena for Portuguese Professional Bull Fighting, and thousands would come from across the world to watch it. More recently though, as it is situated next to the second hand market, it was used as a toilet for the market workers, the 8 foot drop from the edge to the floor coming in particularly handy!

Bearing that in mind, it makes the job which was started by our very own Mr Man (Nelson Veremo) and continued by David 'Hardlife' Sande all the more remarkable. 4 years ago, Mr Man wrote a letter to the municipality to request permission to clean the area and use it as a training facility for the GDM youngsters. Since then, last year's club captain, Hard, has used it to coach the 'Giantkillers' with boys and girls aged from 9-17 learning their trade there.

It's most notable products to date have been Alex, who has this year broke in to the first team and Abu who is currently a key player for the U'17s team and one of those being earmarked for the first team next year.

Alex and Abu now regularly coach the Giantkiller kids, and during our time, took complete control as Hard was completing a coaching course in Zimbabwe.

Each Thursday we visited the Giantkillers, often alternating between taking sessions and assisting Alex as he showed great potential, highlighted by the success of the Giantkillers in the Arsenal Tournaments we ran during our stay. Recently Pingi, the club's Youth Director, has started up an academy for the U'11s and U'14s and many of the Giantkiller's players have been selected in the original squads.

Another of the Bull Ring's unique features is the acoustics. Instrumental in keeping in the atmosphere during the peak years of Bull Fighting, the design now means that everything we say is echoed three or four times.

As the first official GDM training facility, the Bull Ring is held in high regard by all visitors, and will continue to be used as a breeding ground for the future stars of GDM.