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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
FORMER Highlanders Football Club coach Bongani Mafu is on a rural areas talent scouting drive which he believes will unearth the country’s next big football stars.
Mafu’s Lobengula Stars were crowned champions of the inaugural edition of the Drogba annual tournament held in Lobengula at the weekend. They beat Njube Spurs two nil in the final of the eight-team tournament.
Mafu’s Lobengula Stars
His side consisted of a number of players that he has adopted into his team from rural areas in Matabeleland.
“I am a football coach. Tomorrow l may be employed by Highlanders, Dynamos or Hwange. I don’t need anyone to scout the talent for me. When l get employed l should be in a position to easily select the players that I need. In the team that won the Drogba tournament, l have boys from Gwanda and Plumtree. I have two boys from Cyrene Mission.
“I have seen these boys and assessed them. l have registered them with the team and they stay in Inyathi where l have a homestead. I drive there every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to coach them. Football in the rural areas is on the up and if the net is cast wider we will get more players. There is talent out there, believe me,” said Mafu.
The former Warriors assistant coach is the man credited with discovering Prince Dube when he was at Somvubu High School in Inyathi and also turning out for Shooting Stars in the Inyathi Football Association. He took him to Lobengula Stars and when he was appointed first team coach in 2015, he moved with the then 18-year old to Bosso where the now Tanzania based striker started off with Highlanders Academy before being promoted to the senior team for the 2016 season.
At the Drogba tournament, Lobengula Rovers, Vitality, Njube Spurs, LMC, Lobengula Stars, Highflyers, Njube United, Emakhandeni did battle in the male division while Lobengula City Queens and FMSA were the women’s teams which took part.
Lobengula City Queens won the game 1-0.
Drogba Tournament-Lobengula Stars win
Tournament sponsor Tumeliso Mokoena Ndlovu is not new to junior football.
He is the founder of New West City FC, a club that groomed players such as Highlanders’ Rahman Kutsanzira, former Bosso defender Tendai Ngulube, ex-players Warren Dube (How Mine) Zibusiso Sibanda (Harare City), Erico Phiri (Tsholotsho FC) and Blessing Mwandimutsira (Buffaloes FC).
He is also a former secretary-general of the Zifa Southern Region board that was led by veteran administrator Musa Mandaza. — @innocentskizoe
Online Reporter