adminRicky Zililo, Sports Reporter
ZIFA Southern Region Division One Soccer League log leaders and championship favourites Bulawayo Chiefs coach Thulani ‘Thuts’ Sibanda has been relieved of his duties. Sibanda has been re-assigned to the club’s academy whose document a lecturer from Nust is working on.
The 2011 Zifa Southern Region Division One Soccer League championship winning coach with Quelaton was given his marching orders on Monday after the club’s review meeting.
Impeccable sources said Sibanda was told that he is being re-assigned to head Bulawayo Chiefs’ academy which will be based in Plumtree where the club plays its Division One home matches.
The news was broken to the coach after his side played to a goalless draw away at Ntabazinduna Prison.
“Thuts (Sibanda) is no longer head coach at Bulawayo Chiefs and was told about his re-assignment by the club’s secretary Dumisani Mantuli Sibanda. It seems there were some things that the executive was not happy about and they decided to release him. From the look of things the technical advisor (Rahman Gumbo) will now sit on the bench until they get a coach,” said a source.
The sources said Gumbo had technically been the head coach since his arrival but of late players had been divided into two caps.
Sibanda had done well to transform the fortunes of Bulawayo Chiefs since joining them after eight games last season when they were in position 14 on the log with just eight points.
The eventual champions How Mine had amassed 23 points having played 10 matches.
Sibanda managed to guide Bulawayo Chiefs to end the season at position five with 55 points from 32 outings, 10 behind winners How Mine.
Interestingly, from the time he joined Bulawayo Chiefs he picked the most number of points as he bagged 47 points while champions How Mine managed 42 for the remainder of the season.
For the 2013 season, Sibanda had managed to continue from where he left and his club had amassedd 28 points from 11 games. He registered nine victories, lost once to second placed Black Boots and played to a goalless draw against Ntabazinduna last weekend.
Sibanda confirmed that he has left Bulawayo Chiefs’ senior team and said he is looking forward to his new assignment as a juniors’ gaffer.
“Bulawayo Chiefs is an ambitious club and I am honoured to be associated with them. I have been re-deployed to lead the club’s juniors which I believe will be a great challenge for me. I wish the guys all the best in the championship campaign,” said Sibanda.
Repeated efforts to get comments from Bulawayo Chiefs’ secretary Dumisani Sibanda and its sponsor Lovemore Sibanda were fruitless.
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