By Jose Pedro Mbewe Andras
Edinburgh- At 9 years old, most kids are picking teams for break time as Jayden “JJ” Jolide has taken the route of picking a pathway that could shape his footballing future.
Born in Edinburgh to Zimbabwean parents, Samson Jolide and Norma Bakasa, JJ has just signed with Dundee Academy, one of Scotland’s most respected football academies, the same place that once helped shape Charlie Adam, who went on to play for Liverpool and Stoke City in the Premier League.
JJ’s story didn’t start with agents or big trials. It started in 2024 on a muddy pitch with Blue Brazil, Cowdenbeath FC.
His dad Samson put it simply when we spoke, “JJ arrived as a complete novice. The coaches at Blue Brazil believed in him, worked with him every week, and you could see the change. The dedication from them made all the difference.”
That dedication paid off fast. Over the last year, JJ’s name started coming up. Several clubs invited him to train with their academies after watching him play. Scouts noticed the same thing his local coaches did: he listens, he works, and he improves every session.
After sitting down with Dundee Academy coaches, Coach Jambo and Coach Kev, the Jolide family made the call.
“They laid out the vision, the development plan, how they grow kids on and off the pitch,” Samson said. “As a family we felt Dundee was the perfect fit for JJ’s next step.”
Now the real work begins. Early mornings, extra touches, classroom sessions, the whole academy routine. JJ says he’s ready for it.
And there’s another layer to this chapter. JJ joins a growing list of players born outside Zimbabwe who still carry Zimbabwean roots.
At 9, he has time on his side, but the question will come later, Scotland where he was born and is learning his football, or Zimbabwe, the country of his parents? For now the focus is just football. The choice can wait.
Dundee has a reputation for turning local kids into professionals. For JJ, it’s a chance to train in that environment every day, to be pushed, and to see how far hard work can take him.
From Blue Brazil to Dundee. From novice to academy player in just over a year, the pitch in Edinburgh is behind him as, t he one in Dundee is waiting.