At 41, Chicken Inn skipper Jackson wants to beat history

Tadious Manyepo

Sports Reporter

CHICKEN INN captain Moses Jackson was on his way to becoming a part of the trailblazing CAPS United class of 2004 and 2005.

He had been raised in the Green Machine system together with some of the players like Raymond Undi, Brian Badza and Ashley Rambanapasi who went on to be key members of that team which illuminated the local football scene, winning consecutive titles under Charles Mhlauri.

So good was the now 41-year-old that his graduation from the Makepekepe junior ranks into the senior team didn’t take long.

He made his senior debut against then Moses Chunga-coached Mhangura in 1999, lining up along such players as the late pair of Joe “Kode” Mugabe and Shingi Arlon, Dumisani Mpofu as well as Morgan Nkatazo, among others. And he seemed to be in the right track and destined for a fruitful career with Makepekepe, but he suddenly and surprisingly decided to quit the game.

“I arrived at CAPS United I think in 1997 thereabout from Zimphos Juniors. I played alongside such players like Raymond Undi, David Kutyauripo, Brian Badza, Leonard Tsipa and Ashley Rambanapasi, among others, in the development side and in 1999, I graduated into the senior team.

“I made my debut that same year and played in the same team with the likes of Nkatazo and Shingi Arlon among other top players,” recalls Jackson.

“It was during those days that during one weekend I decided to travel to Gweru. Coincidentally, I was offered a job by a flower-making company and the offer was too attractive to turn down.

“After all, my family wasn’t really interested in me playing football even as I was growing up in Epworth, so when I decided to look for a job, they were not really worried.”

And for a decade, Jackson was in the football wilderness although he would, here and there, play for social clubs as he continued to butter his bread employed with the floral company in the Midlands.

But seeing some of his teammates at junior level making it big in the game had him thinking again.

“Obviously seeing some of my former teammates at junior level doing great is something that got me thinking. These were some of my teammates when I was growing up in the CAPS United juniors and they were making waves. The likes of Rambanapasi, Undi…

“But then I was also gainfully employed and needed to keep my job, feed my family. I was watching football and playing the game sparingly when I had free time at a social level.

“But I kept on training every time, I just wanted to keep fit, not that I was dreaming of getting back to the game, no.”

But in 2010, Jackson was playing social football when a Gweru professional football team, Hardbody, identified and approached him with a contract.

“I didn’t have to think twice. I badly needed to take this opportunity. I felt I still had what it takes and being with a team like Hardbody was never a pressure-cooker.

“I would get time to mature game-wise and be back at my past best. For two years I played for Hardbody and I should say, it was an enjoyable time for me playing football again in the top-flight.”

And in 2012 Chicken Inn came knocking.

“It was at that point that I decided to concentrate on football again, on a full-time basis.

“Chicken Inn was the ideal home; they were ambitious with two years’ experience in the top-flight.”

Jackson would establish himself as one of the top players at the Bulawayo team and in 2015 he helped the Joey “Mafero” Antipas-coached side win the Premiership title.

A year later he was appointed the captain following the departure of the 2015 Castle Lager Premier League Soccer Star of the Year Danny “Deco” Phiri to South Africa.

Jackson, who was on the Soccer Stars’ calendar in 2016, has partnered several players at the heart of Chicken Inn defence including Teenage Hadebe and Guard Goddard, among others, and at 41, he feels he still has what it takes to play for more years.

“For me, age is the last thing I look at. I feel like I am still in my early 30s. For as long as I feel strong I will still be playing football. Maybe for the next five, six years or even more, I will be playing, for as long as the team still needs my services.”

The stout defender, who is the league’s longest-serving captain, is only younger than Herentals’ Innocent Benza who is 49.