adminSisa Sihwa
FORMER Caps United star player Elton Chimedza is now employed as Correctional Officer Grade One by Zimbabwe Prisons and Correction Services in Harare after playing eight years in the top flight league.
Chimedza, who was born in Harare in 1982, grew up at Support Unit Depot and went to Support Unit Primary school. For his secondary education, he attended Mabvuku High and Churchill Boys High school.
Chimedza joined Caps United in his early childhood years playing for the Under-13 junior team until he was promoted to play in the first team in year 2000. He played centre back or as a defensive midfielder in the Caps United outfit alongside Artwell Mabhiza, Silent Katumba and Tichaona Nyenda.
His brother Cephas joined him at Caps United before pursuing his career at Germinal Beerschot side based in Belgium in 2006.
The two brothers were part of the Caps United squad which won the Premier Soccer League title consecutively in 2004 to 2005. Chimedza and four other Caps United players did not return to Zimbabwe after a tour of England where they played against Highlanders in 2005. They all decided to settle in the United Kingdom, after they reportedly went missing from their training camp.
Upon his return from the UK, Elton joined Shooting Stars in 2008 and left the club in 2010 to join Division one side Flame Lilly FC. Before his retirement from professional football later in 2015 at his Flame Lilly side, he was employed by ZPCS and he is currently stationed at Chikurubi Training School in Harare, where he resides with his family.
When asked what motivated him to join ZPCS Chimedza revealed that he needed a stable job with a regular income to take care of his family.
“I joined ZPCS to find a secure job because at the time I was beginning to have financial constraints. Since teams were struggling economically and failing to pay their players’ salaries, I had to find a steady job in a harsh economic situation,” Chimedza said.
Currently Chimedza is a holder of certificate level one for coaching and hopes to develop youngsters in soccer at junior level.
“Since soccer has always been my passion, I want to delve into coaching with the aim to develop these youngsters game at junior level,” he said.
When asked about his hobbies and favourite food Chimedza still maintained that soccer is the first hobby he holds at heart and likes to eat sadza beef and stew.
Chimedza is not the only former PSL prominent footballer to join the ZPCS, as former Monomotapa captain Luckmore Simango and Laison Ntalika , who played for a number of clubs including Caps United, Sporting lions FC, Mutare Eastern Lions before ending his career at Flame Lilly, are currently employed as Correctional officers ranked Grade one. Simango (37) and Ntalika (35) were employed as prison officers in 2012.
Simango, who decided to hang his boots in 2015, said that his choice to join ZPCS was highly motivated by his father who is a former police officer.
“Growing up I looked up to my father who was a policeman and I admired him, I became attracted to the life lived by police men in a police depot,” Simango said.
Simango, who currently resides in Waterfalls in Harare, is a holder of level one coaching certificate and hopes to develop and nurture junior talents in soccer.
“I realised that junior talent is not properly nurtured in my part of town these days, so I want to assist the youngsters reach their full potential in the sport because it pays well,” he said.
Simango won the league for the side in 2008 and got an opportunity to play in the CAF champions League. In 2010, he joined Caps United before spending the last years of his career at Flame Lilly.
The Trio was part of the Mashonaland region football team which partook in the General Commissioner Sport Week Games hosted at Ntabazinduna Training school on 5 August this year. — @j_sihwa
Bongani Ndlovu