Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter
FORGOTTEN, just like many other local football heroes who the game has failed to reward, former Mighty Warriors coach Shadreck Mlauzi still has some air of bitterness.
But he still wishes Zimbabwe sporting success.
Mlauzi is the only coach to guide a Zimbabwean team to a global football tournament.
He was in charge when the Mighty Warriors made history by qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Six years later, the Bulawayo-based gaffer has not only disappeared from the limelight, but he is also yet to be paid his qualification bonus by ZIFA.
His gallant Mighty Warriors included players like Kudakwashe Basopo, Emmaculate Msipa and Mavis Chirandu, who captured world attention in Brazil but also got nothing in return.
As he reflects on his career, achievements and disappointments while on Christmas holiday in his rural area of Nyamandlovu, Mlauzi feels he still has a lot to offer, although somehow, he feels cheated by ZIFA.
“One might seem to have a lot of resentment but one wishes well for their country,” said Mlauzi. A holder of a CAF B Licence, a degree in Physical Education and several sport science qualifications, Mlauzi feels Zimbabwe has not progressed since that historic feat in 2016.
“We are not doing things right and it will be difficult for us to make a mark in this highly competitive global sports arena.
“We haven’t done really well after 2016.
“It was always going to be difficult and it’s very sad. After that historic qualification, there were no incentives. “You see, when players reach that level, you want to reward them so that they keep going and maintain that performance. “We didn’t do that as a nation. At the end of the day, it will be difficult to keep motivation levels high.”
Mlauzi has taken a “sabbatical” from coaching, as he has been healing from the wounds caused by the treatment he got from ZIFA in the aftermath of the 2016 Olympic Games.
He took ZIFA to the courts as he sought to get his dues but nothing materialised.
The case even found its way into the Supreme Court, until Mlauzi decided to let it go. In between, he has also been taking a different path, authoring two textbooks on physical education and sports science, which have already been published.
“I have been lying a bit low.
“After the Mighty Warriors, I coached at school level, but rather, let me say took a bit of a sabbatical from football.
“I needed a lot of reflection and closure because of the treatment I got from the association (ZIFA).”
Mlauzi watched the recent World Cup finals with a keen and educated eye and he is convinced Zimbabwe are still “far behind” in terms of tactical and technical ability.
“Those nations that participated in the World Cup are at a different level. It’s like those nations are in a world of their own.
“As for us, it is going to be difficult to match those levels, especially without any developmental model to follow.
“Without long-term plans, it is very difficult for our players to meet the same levels that we saw at the World Cup.
“But it shouldn’t be that way. As a nation, we are not making use of the talent and personnel we have.
“We are not tapping into the experiences which, maybe, we got from the Olympics there, the experience we got from the African Cup of Nations finals.
“We have the human resources, people who have studied sports as a science, but we are not tapping into that.”
Driven by his desire to transform the local sporting landscape, insofar as appreciation of sports science is concerned, Mlauzi has also formed a sports consultancy firm.
“The idea is to revolutionalise not only football but sport in general.
“As a nation, I am sure you will attest to the fact that we are not doing particularly great, especially in football, where you can straight away see that very few of our players are able to make it into the European market.
“You could tell from the World Cup that the technical and tactical quality is at a different level to ours, but we want to change that.
“But we can only change that if we start by teaching the next generation the correct things; make them appreciate how science can influence our athletic performance,” said Mlauzi.
Just like any other sport, women’s football in Zimbabwe was affected by Covid-19 and the national league only resumed this year, after a two-year hiatus.
While happy that the league is back, Mlauzi has some reservations about the level of competition.
Herentals dethroned perennial champions Black Rhinos, but several teams in the elite league struggled to fulfil fixtures.
“On paper, we seem to have a national league but for me, it is the competitiveness that has always been questionable given that teams do not actually fulfil fixtures.
“I would have wanted a situation whereby we regionalise that league like in the US, for example; the NBA is played in various conferences, then top teams play a number of playoffs until a national champion is crowned.
“Then, it will give a true reflection of a national champion.
“Playing in the region is quite affordable for most of these teams. When you look at our national league, we have teams struggling to pay referees, teams struggling to train on a weekly basis and then you wonder as to the sort of quality that you are going to have,” Mlauzi said.
* Twitter: @LangtonGuraz
