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Raymond Jaravaza
WHEN Daniel Msendami donned the famous Warriors jersey number 13 in the recently ended Four Nations Tournament in Malawi, he must have felt like he was walking on air.
After all, the Warriors jersey number 13 is no ordinary jersey. It was made famous by the late legendary Adam ‘Adamski’ Ndlovu. Msendami capped a fine afternoon for the Warriors with an assist in regulation time to draw 2-2 with Zambia in the semi-finals of the tournament, before scoring the winning penalty that guaranteed the Warriors a place in the final against Kenya.
But behind Msendami’s fascinating story of a Warriors debut, an assist and a winning penalty, a raging debate on social media was brewing, as to how Adamski’s famous jersey number 13 was ‘resurrected’, again, by Zifa.
Readers will remember that jersey number 13 was retired by Zifa after the death of Ndlovu in December 2012. Ndlovu died in a tragic car accident a few kilometres before the resort town of Victoria Falls, on 16 December 2012, as they were on their way to a friendly match together with his younger brother Peter Ndlovu and a female passenger who also died on the spot. Peter was injured, but has made a full recovery.
Adam’s death touched every Zimbabwean, with some sections calling for the authorities to declare him a national hero. He was eventually buried at Lady Stanley Square, after the Bulawayo City Fathers conferred him with the status and decided he be buried there, where some city luminaries lie. Soon after Ndlovu’s death, the then Zifa chief executive officer ,Jonathan Mashingaidze announced that no Warriors player will wear number 13.
“In our tribute to Adam we indicated that we need to have a Hall of Fame for our soccer greats and in that place will be jersey number 13, which was worn by Adam. Let the nation know that just like what the Cameroonians did with jersey number 17, which was worn by Marc Vivien Foe, there will no longer be a jersey number 13 in the Warriors,” said Mashingaidze back then.
However, it’s not the first time that Zifa has resuscitated the jersey number 13. In 2013, when the Warriors played South Africa in an international friendly, Khama Billiat wore the jersey number 13 in the match played at Orlando Stadium. The Warriors team manager then, Sharrif Mussa, apologised for using the jersey.
It was said back then that the team found itself in a fix after carrying 18 jerseys for 19 players and that efforts to erase the three on the jersey had failed, prompting Billiat to don the top. Zifa demanded a full report from the team management, which was never made public.
Efforts to get a comment from the Zifa Normalisation Committee through its chairman Lincoln Mutasa came to naught.
Online Reporter