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Bruce Chikuni
BLESSED MAPUWA seems to have been happily favoured.
His name is full of meaning; it means “divinely or happily favoured”.
Even though his parents dissuaded him from following his childhood ambition of becoming a professional football player, he finds comfort in assisting his kids in achieving their own goals.
He is the father of Wellington (21), Washington (18) and Winne (11), who have shown great potential in domestic football circles.
The youngest of the trio, Winne, is quickly proving to be cut from the cloth that makes Mighty Warriors stars.
Although she is only 11, she burst into the Zimbabwe team for the Girls Under-15 at the just-ended COSAFA edition of the CAF African Schools Championship at Gateway High School.
Winne featured four times for Zimbabwe and scored a goal. She also provided an assist.
This was a huge milestone for an 11-year-old, who is still doing primary education at Herentals.
Her brother Washington can consider himself unlucky after just missing out on the Castle Lager Premiership’s Most Promising Player accolade.
Washington, who had a stellar season with league debutants Green Fuel, scoring four times and providing eight assists, finished just one vote behind the eventual winner, Elton Chikona, of Dynamos, who polled 16.
The Legends Football Academy (LFA) alumni was tied in second place with another Dynamos player, Junior Makunike.
With age still on his side, “The Equaliser’’, as Washington is popularly known, could still fight to the accolade next season.
The eldest of the trio, Wellington, another LFA product, has made over five appearances for the Young Warriors, having featured for the national Under-17 and Under-20 sides.
Midway through the campaign, he suffered an injury that prevented his season with Mutare City in the Eastern Region Division One from going as planned.
But the fact that his children are playing and doing well for their respective teams has left the modest Blessed a proud father.
Blessed paid special tribute to LFA director and coach Farai Dhliwayo for laying the platform for his children to pursue their dreams.
He has been watching as Winnie continues to learn the ropes under the watchful eye of Dhliwayo, whose academy is an international affiliate of English Premiership outfit Everton.
LFA have also produced Polokwane City striker Douglas Mapfumo, the youngest of the few Zimbabweans playing in the South African Premiership at the moment.
Blessed believes the exposure Washington received when they travelled to the Cristiano Ronaldo academy in Portugal last year has had a rub-on effect on his children.
He feels it helped them see the bigger picture of what it entails for one to become a professional footballer.
“It feels good that three of my children have taken this route, and I’m grateful to God because it was always my dream to play football, but I did not manage to reach the desired end due to reasons beyond my control,’’ Blessed said.
“I have always known that they would be good players because I was really good.
“I’m not even surprised by Winne because it’s something I saw in her when she was very young, and they make me proud.
“I think Legends Academy have made it possible for my children to reach this far because, at this young age, they have all shown great potential, and it is now up to them to reach their potential,’’ he said.
Blessed advised fellow parents against standing in the way of the sporting dreams of their children.
“As parents, we have a role to play in discovering how best we can help our children pursue their dreams.
“I was deprived of my chance to play at the top level, but I saw no reason to punish my children by not supporting them.
“I have always supported them because I know that whatever happens in their life, they will never blame me because I was there to support their vision,” he said.
At 11, his daughter Winne, who trains with the boys at LFA, has set her eyes on becoming a regular feature of the Women’s national teams.
She will be eligible for the next three editions of the CAF Schools Championship, while a Mighty Warriors call-up could come earlier.
She revealed her excitement at representing her country.
“Playing for the national team was a dream come true because it was something which I have always wanted in my life.
“Legends Academy is like home to me because they don’t treat me like a girl who plays football but everyone is treated equally.
“This has helped me to learn a lot from the boys because many times we train together, and it helps me to grow.
“My best wish is to become a senior national team player, and it also means I have to work hard for me to get there,’’ Winne said.
As he nurses his injury, Wellington has been back at the academy, helping with the coaching of young players.
“It was a disappointing end of the season in many ways for me. We did not get promoted as hoped for, and I also picked up a bad injury towards the end of the season.
“There was nothing much for me, but I believe that is normal in football. I’m now working towards gaining my fitness.
“I’m really happy for my siblings, they are doing well, and it also pushes me to do more. I hope we will all do better than what we did this season,” said Wellington.
Washington is expected to extend his stay with Green Fuel, now that the club also survived relegation.
“Legends Academy has helped my family in many ways; they also offered me a scholarship because they believed in me before I was not even sure that I would play in the PSL.
“I really owe Legends Academy a lot for their efforts to improve our lives through football.
“I was also motivated when I saw Winne playing for the national team. It even challenged me to improve my performance next season.
“Legends Academy has raised us well, and we are going to push each other to achieve whatever comes our way just to repay Dhliwayo for impacting our lives,’’ Washington said.
Online Reporter