The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS’ vice chairperson Modern Ngwenya feels he is done with club football administration and is now angling for a post on the ZIFA board.
In what could signal the start of the crazy ZIFA election season, Ngwenya has openly declared his interest in the association’s polls scheduled for next year.
He will step down from his post at Highlanders in February to concentrate on his campaign.
He has been the Bulawayo giants’ vice chairperson since 2016.
“I am going to challenge for a post in the ZIFA board at next year’s elections, no doubt about that,” Ngwenya told The Sunday Mail Sport.
He has served Highlanders for the last five years, during which he played a pivotal role in sourcing sponsorship for the country’s oldest football club.
The boardroom stability that has prevailed at Bosso in recent years, despite the club’s failure to capture the championship, is also credited to a certain extent to the influence he wields within the Highlanders family.
“I have done my apprenticeship at Highlanders and I am going to leave Highlanders intact. So there is no reason for me not to dream bigger.
“The Bible says man fail because they do not have a vision. If you have a vision, you work towards that.
“I am a football person and apart from being a Highlanders vice-chairman, I am a very balanced man,” he said.
An affable character, Ngwenya was one of the people who worked round the clock to help Bosso seal the landmark sponsorship deal with Sakunda Holdings.
He also played a pivotal role when NetOne came on board to sponsor Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS United in February 2018.
He becomes one of a few people, including former CAPS United and Bidvest Wits winger Alois Bunjira, to openly talk about their interest in the ZIFA polls.
However, the football fraternity awaits the official confirmation of candidates who will vie for local football’s most influential posts.
However, Ngwenya has since thrown his name in the hat, as he believes he has what it takes to transform football at national level.
“I believe ZIFA will go places if I am to go into the ZIFA board, in whatever capacity . . . Zimbabwean football will go places.
“I am still contemplating on which position I should challenge, but the truth of the matter is I will go national; going national means I will be doing things at a larger scale,” he said.
“During my tenure at Highlanders, we did win some Independence trophy titles and we won the Chibuku Super Cup.
“I now want to add value to football at a large sale. I have done my part at Highlanders and I think those that appreciate will do so.
“Leadership has always been in my DNA. Remember, I was head boy at Lochinvar in Harare and I have grown to become a very connected personality.”
He said the highlight of his contribution at club level was the Sakunda deal.
Ngwenya was elected Highlanders vice chairperson in 2016 after beating his closest rival Kenneth Mhlope, who, however, later bounced back to become Bosso chairperson.
But the Harare-based Ngwenya was also acting chair from October 2016 until the 2018 elections, when the then Bosso chairperson, Peter Dube, was suspended by ZIFA.
