Interview #60 - Tatenda Mkurva

Chris Dailey

Founder, The Sports Court

THE SPORTS COURT X OPSM ARTICLE 

Tatenda Mkurva is a high-flying, goal-saving, acrobatic goalkeeper.

Mkurva is also a person who’s climbed many mountains, ran many hills, and persevered to become a professional footballer even when all the odds were stacked against him.

Born in Zimbabwe, Mkurva’s natural talent was always clear. However, as the wise Kevin Durant once said, “hard work beats talent when talent doesn't hard work”.

But this wasn’t the case for Mkurva.

Tatenda Mkurva was the hardest worker every time he stepped onto the pitch. And this led him to unprecedented success at a young age.

“I started playing soccer when I was a little kid… I then played for the u15,17,20,&23 teams for the Zimbabwe National Team and I signed my first pro contract when I was 17,” Tatenda stated.

Born into a family of great soccer ability, as his dad was also a star player, Tatenda becoming a pro was a dream come true. But the young keeper knew he wasn’t done yet. 

Mkurva knew that his story had just begun.

In Zimbabwe, Mkurva played for Dynamos, and pulled a Cristiano Ronaldo, winning 3 league titles. A cerebral winner, Mkurva did everything to make sure his team got one thing and one thing only, a championship.

“It always feels good, it’s amazing to win 3 championships with Dynamos FC, the biggest club in Zimbabwe at such a young age. It also makes me want to achieve more and work extra hard,” said Tatenda. 

After his amazing run in Zimbabwe and a brief stint in South Africa and Zambia, Mkurva found his way to the land of opportunity, the United States of America, through TG Global Sports.

While in America, Mkurva got in touch with Canada based sports agency, OPSM. “My former coach Deniss is from Germany and he helped me get in touch with OPSM and my time with them has been phenomenal,” Mkurva stated about his time with OPSM.

The kid from Zimbabwe has found his place in a country so big it’s easy to get lost in. But Tatenda Mkurva is a special talent, with an unmatched work ethic and winning mentality. 

Mkurva is currently signed to NISA side, Michigan Stars FC, and has appeared in several games for them this season.


So far, Mkurva is loving his time with the Stars, Mkurva stated, “NISA is a new good league with a lot of potential to improve and get bigger. I have been enjoying doing what I love to do the most, playing games week in and week out is amazing and it feels good to showcase my talents in front of the fans because they’re the owners of this game.”

A humble person. Tatenda Mkurva has the mentality not many have, the mamba mentality.

Throughout his life, Mkurva has always been seen as ‘the young kid with good potential but every time he’s stepped onto a professional pitch, he’s shown he’s much more than just a young kid, he’s a generational talent.

Mkurva is a talent so grand, it will be very interesting to see how the future unfolds and what leagues he can progress into.

A Zimbabwean international, OPSM, and Mkurva are both looking forward to working together further in the future and expanding on their relationship.

As Mkurva shines in the NISA, the sky's the limit for the youngster from Zimbabwe. 


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Big shoutout to Tatenda and Jeff Addai for the interview. Go check out opsmpro.com now!