The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda in HWANGE
SADLY, they are mourning in a year they would have been celebrating 50 years after the capture of maiden first silverware.
Three years before CAPS United were born, Hwange were already a dominant force on the local football scene as they landed the Castle Cup in 1970, after thumping Salisbury Callies 6-2.
They repeated the feat in 1973 when a powerful squad comprising of legendary goalkeeper Posani Sibanda, Amos Rendo, the late Barry Daka and former national team player Rodrick Simwanza outshone Dynamos in what has remained a memorable Cup final for the people of Hwange.
Fifty years later, Hwange are clutching at straws and there is a football funeral at the Colliery.
Chipangano, who are languishing in Division One, are trying to regroup following their relegation from the top-flight at the end of the 2017 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season.
Colliery Stadium, once a fortress where giants Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS United would melt in the searing heat of Matabeleland North, is now a pale shadow of its former self.
One can feel the grief within the Colliery compounds of Lwendulu, Madumavisa, Lisumbani, Makwika and Cinderella.
One of the football godfathers of Hwange, Weekly Mwale, summed up the mood at the Colliery when The Sunday Mail Sport caught up with him in Lwendulu Number One Compound.
“The fact that Hwange is no longer in the Premier Soccer League pains us a lot. It is the only team from Matabeleland North that has represented us well in the top-flight league throughout the history of Zimbabwean football,” said the former goalkeeper.
The 60-year-old Mwale, who is now chairperson of Hwange Greats (an association of Hwange football legends), featured for Chipangano between 1982 and 1987.
He remembers well how the Colliery and surrounding areas used to be a conveyor belt of talent, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.
From Nyaro Mumba to Method Mwanjali, Obert Moyo and Walter Chuma, who controversially won the 1998 Soccer Star of the Year Award, Hwange was a major supplier of football talent.
Junior football
However, Mwale feels the lack of a sound junior development policy has stifled talent identification and growth.
“The death of junior leagues which ran under the Wankie Football Association (WAFA) was the beginning of a long-term problem.
“We once had a vibrant junior league which was fully funded by Hwange Colliery. When this stopped, everything collapsed.
“This WAFA league consisted of compounds within the Colliery and was run by Hwange Colliery through revenues from the beer hall.
“Hwange has a lot of budding talent, but the players are frustrated because they do not have a chance to showcase their talent.
“That is why we have a number of Hwange-born players dotted across the country; they are fed up with the system here.
“The problem we have does not need a quick fix. They (Hwange Colliery) have often appointed foreign coaches who only come here to boost their CVs and promote their own players.
“At one time Hwange became a platform for coaches to bring in players from outside Hwange, promote and sell them.
“I am currently trying to resuscitate the WAFA league, but there is no support. We have even sent some players to America like Nation Dube’s son, Bob.”
There is hope that two of the hottest prospects from the Colliery — Hamilton Gomba (16) and Kluivert Tshuma (17) — might boost Hwange’s erstwhile football vibrancy.
Hamilton is son to former Hwange and Dynamos star midfielder, Carrington, who is now based in Zambia, where he turns out for Red Arrows.
“We have Hamilton at Prince Edward High in Harare as well as Kluivert Tshuma. They are both promising midfielders,” said Mwale.
Hwange are now in the Southern Region Division One League, under the guidance of former Highlanders gaffer Bongani Mafu.
“I don’t think this is a long-term solution. We are going nowhere unless we start from grassroots. Players should be taught how to control, chip, pass or shoot at a tender age,” said Mwale, who coached Hwange between 2001 and 2003.
Mafu expressed his desire to turn around the fortunes of Hwange.
He, however, said it was not a given that Hwange-bred players would have a straight walk-in.
“We are trying to force our way back into the PSL, but with younger players this time.
“If we come back, we want to stay for a long time. That is why we are looking at young, ambitious footballers.
“Youngsters from Hwange and surrounding areas will be given first preference, but they have to prove that they are good. We are not building a school, we want to build a team that competes.
“Hwange-based players have to work hard; it’s not a free lunch,” said Mafu.
Hwange now has five teams in the Southern Region Division One League — Makomo; ZESA Hwange; Moto Moto, who are coached by former Chipangano midfielder Nation Dube; Moto Muzhinji and Hwange.
Leonard Tembo, one of the stars of the Hwange side that won the Castle Cup in 1972, was nostalgic when The Sunday Mail Sport caught up with him.
“Hwange were once a mighty club. Remember, we beat Dynamos in the 1972 Castle Cup final. That Dynamos side was fronted by George Shaya, and that should tell you how good that team was,” the 68-year-old Tembo said.
“But I have been observing that standards have been deteriorating. I can see problems all over, from poor sponsorship to lack of a sound junior development policy.
“Now the team is in Division One and there are no structures to capture young talent. The result is that most youths will resort to drug abuse.”
Amon Mukozho, former Hwange striker who formed a fearsome partnership with Chuma, also added his voice.
“The Colliery community is not happy; it’s a sad feeling,” said Mukozho, who featured for Hwange between 1998 and 2006.
“I have retired from the game, I am now a miner, but it still hurts me a lot when I think of Hwange FC. It’s a club that gave us a platform to play in the top-flight, but now the team is in Division One,” he said.
Former Chipangano left-back Adrian Mbewe attributes Hwange’s demise to the club’s recruitment policy.
“The recruitment policy has changed; we no longer have players graduating from juniors into the senior team.
“We now have mercenary-like players who just come here to use the club as a springboard,” said Mbewe, who played for Hwange between 1991 and 1995.
He played alongside the likes of Luke Masomere, Misheck Sibanda, Fabian Zulu, Isaac Tshuma, Mebelo Njekwa and Antony Nakamba, father to Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous.
“Talent is abundant here in Hwange. The likes of Tembo Chuma, Walter Tshuma, Method (Mwanjali), Chungwa (Dominic), all have their roots here in Hwange.”
The ageless Carrington Gomba, who starred for Hwange between 2004 and 2008 before landing a big move to Dynamos, recalled the times when the Colliery was a “real fortress”.
“Hwange was a good club; we had all the support from the management. At one time, we were a force to reckon with.
“We tried to compete against the so-called big teams like Dynamos and CAPS United.
“However, things are no longer the same. I hope people will come together, pull their resources so that the club overcomes the present obstacles.
“The relegation of Hwange has diminished a lot of youngsters’ chances of playing in the top-flight. But, I know Hwange will rise again,” said Gomba.
