Ball is in your court, Twine

Bothwell Mahlengwe
THERE are times when you expect miracles to happen and all your challenges are consumed in a flash. A lot of us go through such times at least once or twice in life.
These are the times that make or break the character of a person. Your reaction in such times determines the time you will take to come out of such challenges. Some bury their heads in the sand and mourn that the universe has turned against them. Some accept their position, fold their sleeves, make the necessary changes and take the necessary steps to overcome the challenges.

Some just fold their hands and accept their fate and expect miracles to happen.
These two past weeks one man has been dominating the sports pages for two completely different reasons.
At one end, he is a man leading a flourishing institution, courting suitors at every turn to an extent that he chooses who to go to bed with.
At the other end, he is presiding over a house that is on fire.
That man is Twine Phiri.

Last Saturday, as the PSL boss, he was presiding over another addition to the association’s suitors in the form of the TM Pick n Pay Challenge Cup.
At the same time, CAPS United were reeling in serious financial challenges.

Their problems came to a head in Zvishavane where they were hammered 0-6 by FC Platinum in the ZNA Charity Shield final.
The contrasting fortunes for the same person are intriguing and you wonder if this is what philosophers mean when they say, ‘life is balanced’.

On one end, he is touted as a relief to Zimbabwean football by the way he is managing PSL’s affairs. On the other hand, he is criticised by his ‘own family as a bad father’.

It would be folly to say that CAPS are the only team with financial problems in this country.
More than half of the teams in our top-flight league are facing serious financial challenges. What makes CAPS United’s story interesting is the man at the helm, Twine Phiri.

One thing that has stuck out is the way in which Phiri’s former partners have come to ‘hate’ football in general and CAPS United in particular.
Most of them do not come to football matches anymore.
Virtually all his former partners cry foul.

Some claim they were short-changed by Phiri and promises were not fulfilled.
Farai Jere poured huge sums of money hoping to one day get a bigger stake in the club but it didn’t happen.
Phiri has cited economic challenges as the main reason why his team is facing serious financial challenges.

True, the nation is going through a difficult phase but you wonder if that should be his excuse when a small team like Bantu Rovers is managing without any noticeable challenges.

I think there are some universal laws that are unbreakable that Mr Phiri is denying. Money is always there, what changes are the pockets.
Where there’s order, there’s clarity, that’s where the money flows.

There is order at the PSL than at ZIFA and that’s why money is flowing to PSL and not to ZIFA.
There is order at Bantu Rovers than at CAPS United and that’s why money is not coming to CAPS United.

The departure of Advocate Lewis Uriri and the rumoured mass resignation of the CAPS United board bear testimony to that.
One has to take total responsibility and look at themselves first before they cast the blame on anyone or anything else. Phiri has been his own enemy at CAPS United.
Phiri wants to leave a legacy at CAPS United but I am afraid that such a noble dream might turn into a nightmare if he doesn’t change his ways.

Legacies are built when we begin something that outgrows us. I have seen promising empires crumble just because the pioneers clung to power for too long.
At some point, your own institution outgrows you and you need other people to take it to the next level for you.
That ability to accept such undeniable fact is what makes heroes.

Just imagine Warren Buffet trying to run all the companies he invests on his own. That would be stupid.
You need partners, partners in the form of other shareholders and managers. You need people who would challenge your way of thinking. That way you grow. You can’t always be right. If we think we are always right and we already know all the answers, we don’t grow.

True to Twine’s words, “football is now big business.”
But there are some unbreakable fundamentals for any business success. Trust is at the top of them all. You need your stakeholders’ trust.
That is the missing ingredient at CAPS United.

Yes, “a team is like a company and it should run itself from the income it generates.”
But for this to happen a company needs strong systems, systems that separate it from its owners. That is what has been lacking at CAPS United.
Another vital thing missing at CAPS United is creativity and innovation. Besides gate-takings and Cup game-exploits, there are no other income-generating activities taking place. For starters, the label of their kit lacks appeal.

I know it’s local and needs our support but it could have been done better. I haven’t seen Twine himself donning it.
We need CAPS United for the development of football in this country. Historically, it has provided healthy competition in our top-flight league.
This season, Taurai Mangwiro and his charges have mounted a respectable challenge in the league title race.

It would be painful to them to see all their efforts going to waste because one man is refusing to see reality.
Of course, I am from the blue side of the city but it is more fulfilling to beat a competitive CAPS United than a crisis-ridden one.
Bothwell Mahlengwe is a banker and former Premiership footballer and can be contacted, for feedback, on the email — [email protected]