Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
PHIL MAKEKERA is passionate about football.
It is this passion that would ultimately lead him to form Hartley Academy, which would go on to produce players such as Nelson Chadya and Wellington Taderera.
After the Hartley dream collapsed, he was undeterred, as he went on to establish Kwekwe United.
He would go further to form Kwekwe United Queens, who sealed promotion into the Women’s Soccer League in only their debut season, the same year their male counterparts also finally made it into the Premiership, in a rare feat of success by the same institution.
Makekera has spent the past 24 years living in London, England, not very far from Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge home.
He is almost always at the iconic ground, where watching his favourite team in their backyard has become a staple.
In hindsight, he believes he could have made the grade had he pursued football rather than concentrate on academic studies.
It is for this reason that he has invested in equipping his two sons.
His eldest son, Chris, a Southampton Academy graduate, could actually make a huge professional leap as he is scheduled for trials with German first division side FC Köln.
“Yes, I think I had everything, including skill, speed, strength and all the other motor qualities that could have seen me going all the way to play professional football,” said Makekera.
“But when I asked her to tell me what exactly I could do for her, she said the best help that I could offer her was by helping others. The words were so deep, and I took them seriously. With my love for football, I then decided to help others by forming Hartley Academy, which almost clinched the Eastern Region Soccer League title in our first year in 2015.”
“But I don’t entirely regret it. Maybe I could have made it, or I could have got injured.
“I am now a FIFA-registered agent staying in the UK and I have made some great inroads, including arranging trials for my son Chris, who will go for the audition with Köln in Germany in the coming weeks.”
Away from the UK, Makekera has been running up and down in Harare looking for a financial partner to support his two clubs in the upcoming season.
“There have been fillers here and there and we are hopeful that we will get sponsors very soon,” he said.
In the interim, he continues funding the clubs from his pocket.
Both teams are scheduled to start their pre-season preparations tomorrow, with the men’s team now under the tutelage of Saul Chaminuka, who has replaced Prince Matore, who won them the ticket into the topflight.
Like he has done looking for sponsors, Makekera has been wandering back and forth looking for one Catholic nun, Igna Powell, to no avail.
He has searched everywhere, physically and virtually.
It is Powell who was Makekera’s guardian angel right from his secondary school days at Mashayamombe in Mhondoro.
“Things were tough at home. I was staying with my maternal grandparents.
Everything was okay until my mother encountered some medical challenges that forced her out of work in Harare,” he said.
“School fees were a challenge, and that’s how Sister Powell, who was the head at Mashayamombe Secondary School, decided to jump in.
“She did everything for me, and I passed my Ordinary Level.
“She secured my Advanced Level at Gokomere in Masvingo, where I also did well.”
After high school, Makekera would usually visit Powell, and when things started opening up for him financially, he decided to thank her.
“But when I asked her to tell me what exactly I could do for her, she said the best help that I could offer her was by helping others. The words were so deep, and I took them seriously.
“With my love for football, I then decided to help others by forming Hartley Academy, which almost clinched the Eastern Region Soccer League title in our first year in 2015.”
And Kwekwe United men and women’s teams are the manifestations of Powell’s words.
It is unfortunate Makekera has not been able to find Powell at a time when he is celebrating his historic moment.
“Both the men’s and women’s teams are ready to roll in the top-flight this year,” he said.
“For both teams, the aim is to survive relegation and see what comes up next.
“We are not looking to get established players.
“We are taking young players who we can nurture and be able to sell in international markets.
“Our girls team came up after the Kwekwe community kept asking us to have one.
“The idea is to fight societal ills using the most beautiful game.”
Both teams were using Zisco Sports Club as their home ground.
They are currently negotiating with the parent company to lease them Torwood Stadium, which they intend to renovate and use for their Premiership games.
Kwekwe United are set to tour Polokwane, South Africa, during the off-season as they prepare for life in the elite league.
