adminLovemore Dube Senior Sports Editor
A BULAWAYO man who played for Highlanders FC two years after its inception in 1926 yesterday confirmed that the club has previously donned a red stripe. Wilfred Randen, probably the only surviving star of the founding class of that era, said playing as Lions FC, Highlanders used to put on a red and white uniform that had white collars. The shorts at that time were white.
On Monday Highlanders announced that in line with global trends, they would soon be changing the colour of their away uniform. This they said was at the behest of their kit sponsors Adidas who will this year start providing tracksuits with red tops and black bottoms.
When fans have warmed up to the tracksuits Highlanders are expected to use a black and red uniform away from home.
“Lions used to put on red and white with white shorts and stockings,” said the 96-year-old Randen at his Southwold home yesterday.
Highlanders, he said, were formed as Lions FC in 1926 by the descendants of Lobengula, Albert and Rhodes Khumalo.
He said he had found the two brothers still active as players in a sport they had grown to love from their days at Tigerkloof in South Africa. In those formative years of Zimbabwean football, Randen said teachers who had been trained in South Africa had played a major role in the growth of the sport.
Randen narrated how he had taken to the sport from Tennyson Hlabangana School in Hope Fountain where he grew up with his mother and missionaries.
“The club was started by the grandsons of the King, Albert and Rhodes alongside Nsele Hlabangana, Charlton Ngcebetsha, Jeremiah Hlabangana and Siphambaniso Khumalo. I grew up playing football at Hope Fountain with the likes of Dan Gasela who played for Highlanders for a very long time.
“Nsele knew me and my nephew Dan Gasela and he encouraged us to join the club in Bulawayo. Then their home ground used to be where the present day Stanley Square is,” said Randen.
He said in 1928, they would come to Bulawayo as small boys and be asked to pick up balls.
“We started off picking up balls as the big boys played, when they felt we were now ripe to play with them, we were invited to join them and we played until we went to play at boarding school. Among some of the teachers who drove football growth were teachers Koti and Bajila who had been to South Africa,” said Randen who disclosed that from Hope Fountain they played teams from Esigodini (Essexvale) and Esiphezini.
During those days the teams that were active were Lonely Mine, United Africa, Mashonaland United and Northern Rhodesia but most of them collapsed.
“Because of links with the royal family, Highlanders was predominatly for Ndebeles and other clubs were founded on ethnic grounds. The migrant workforce in Bulawayo eventually came together and founded Northern Rhodesia,” said Randen.
Northern Rhodesia became home to legendary goalkeeper John Walker Chipukula who died about a decade ago.
He said Fazo Shandova was one of the stand out players for the Northern Rhodesia side.
The administrative tasks of the club he said used to be undertaken by Nsele and Jeremiah among the senior players with juniors clueless about what was happening.
Randen said between 1934 and 1935, Tafi Zibuya Moyo, who passed on last year, was the club’s main backer through his Try Again Bus Service.
Randen said top players for Lions then were Nsele, Sinavutha, Mjuta and Gasela who he remembers scoring an opener for the club when it toured South Africa.
Of Gasela he said; “Dan was a piercing centre forward who scored the opener in Johanesburg.”
Randen, a father of four boys and as many girls, said during their days they played for fun and later the game got incentivised following the introduction of the Osborne Trophy and launch of the Bulawayo Select, Red Army.
Due to pressing commitment to take care of the family, Randen quit football after 1937 when Lions changed to Matabeleland Highlanders.
With years, Randen said, Highlanders began to accept people of other races and ethnic groups.
He spoke highly of Boet Van Ays who was among the pioneering white players at the club.
Randen recalled a team from Scotland — Motherwell — which toured the country in 1934 and beat all opposition which came before it.
He expressed gratitude for Highlanders who honoured Nsele who before his death in 1997.He was the club president.
Randen said he had not been to a football match for ages but would love one day to see the Highlanders boys in action playing attacking football.
Online Reporter