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Lovemore Dube
CALLS for the revival of the Hwange Amateur Football Association once known popularly as Wafa continue to get louder.
This week former Hwange goalkeeper Weekly Mwale called on the community to revive old village clubs ahead of the launch of the league this year. He said a vibrant Hwange amateur league would see more youths active in the game and that would widen the selection options for Hwange Football Club which has fared badly with players promoted to the senior team without much game time.
In the past players made their breakthrough into the local First Division in their teens and towards 18-19 they were promoted to the Hwange reserve where they teamed up with some of the senior players to turn out for the Colliery in the Reserve League and Chamber of Mines.
By the time they played for Chipangano, they would have played over 50 high-intensity matches and dealt with “away match fever.”
“We have to revive village teams like Brazil and Kabwe Warriors,” said Mwale.
These teams provided Hwange with players like Jimmy Sibanda, Barton Mwalukuka, Francis Mwinga, Barton Mwalukuka, Posani Sibanda, Rodrick Simwanza, Isaac Phiri and Skeva Phiri.
The local league has been defunct for almost two decades and that has left young players to join the social soccer ranks where they get lost to the game as they pick up bad habits like drinking and smoking.
A Hwange resident who grew up at a time when there was a vibrant Wafa, James Simwanza said the introduction of the Area Zone League will be a big boost to the community and soccer-loving youths.
“I am born and bred in Hwange. I like what guys like Weekly Mwale, Aleck Nyoni, and Taboniswa Ncube all our local legends are talking about here. They want us to revive the old football vibe of our town, perhaps we may unearth more talent when we have more boys playing structured football,” said Simwanza.
He said while the Matabeleland North Division Two League was a welcome development, itself presented a vacuum where those who could not afford to travel out of town and had nowhere and no one to play.
“For a while, it would be jogging our memories down memory lane when we remember reviving some of the great clubs. The template will however be different and we call on coal mining companies here in Hwange to come forward and sponsor transport and tournaments. In the past we had a league and the Wankie General Manager’s Trophy, if our new mines can replicate that, Hwange football will come of age and we pray they extend the same helping hand to our Chipangano too,” said Simwanza whose father Rodrick was capped four times at Independence and was one of the top stars of the Rhodesia National Football League in the 1970s with appearances on the Soccer Star of the Year calendar.
Local league football in Hwange was once the heartbeat of the town.
Online Reporter