The Sunday Mail
Don Makanyanga
Sports Reporter
FOR much of the last four decades, the Midlands city of Kwekwe has virtually been an academy of local football talent, churning out players that made a mark on the local football scene. From the days of Zimasco and Ziscosteel to the era of Lancashire Steel, Chrome Stars and Kwekwe Cables, the city continued to be a conveyor belt of talent.
But something seems to have happened in the last few years, and the music simply died down as Kwekwe slid into a slumber.
Yet 20 years ago, the mining town erupted into a frenzy as tens of thousands of people lined up the streets to salute the heroics of Lancashire Steel, who had defied all odds to stun fancied CAPS United and claim the 1999 Madison Trophy with a 2-1 victory at the National Sports Stadium.
They were then under the guidance of the late Ashton “Papa’’ Nyazika, while Nelson Matongorere coached CAPS United.
Sadly, in 2008, the side popularly known as “Chimbi-Chimbi Boys’’ in the gold mining city found themselves in the relegation zone and having to play promotional play-offs to retain their top-flight status.
They lost that battle for a place in the Premiership to Stan Kudenga’s Eagles, and three years later, their Division One franchise was sold, triggering a collapse of a once-formidable institution.
But before their monumental collapse, Lancashire had given the domestic game a number of talented players such as striker Luke Petros Jukulile, who would go on to star for South African giants Kaizer Chiefs.
The club turned its home ground Baghdad into a fortress.
Despite Lancashire Steel being a team of note, having won the prestigious Madison Trophy, they are just part of Kwekwe’s rich football history.
The Midlands city also produced talent from Kwekwe Cables, Chrome Stars, Tongogara and Ziscosteel.
In particular, Ziscosteel had been a torch-bearer, especially in the Super League era.
The band of talented players to emerge from Kwekwe included Warriors first goalkeeper at Independence Frank Mkanga, Bernard Zikali, Benedict “Grinder” Moyo, Ephraim Dzimbiri, James Takavada, Kennedy Nagoli, George Magariro, Simbarashe Mambare, 2012 Soccer Star of the Year Washington Arubi, Tafadzwa Dube, Justice Majabvi, Malvern Nyakangwe, Petros Sibanda, Ian Nyoni and Stephen Alimenda.
Benedict Moyo, who has a rare record of never being sent off in more than a decade of playing Super League football as a defender, would grow to be a father figure in Kwekwe’s football history, unearthing and nurturing a lot of talent since he ventured into coaching.
He later became a coaches’ instructor.
Grinder comes from a family with a rich history in football.
His younger brother Benjamin took charge of FC Platinum before dying in a freak swimming pool accident in 2011.
A former ZIFA board member for development between 2010 and 2014, Grinder also coached both the Warriors and the Mighty Warriors. He, however, agonises over the inactivity and inaction that has hit Kwekwe since Lancashire Steel’s relegation in 2008.
“Kwekwe is an industry-based city where everything revolves around the industries.
“We used to have Chrome Stars backed by Zimasco, Ziscosteel backed by Ziscosteel, Lancashire-Steel backed by Steel Makers; the clubs had a strong backing from these institutions, but due to the economic meltdown, the town has lost its lustre,” said the outspoken gaffer. He also blamed the demise of football in Kwekwe on the link between company administration and sports, which he felt led “some people who had no interests in sport” to hold influential positions.
