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LEGENDARY Zimbabwe football coach, Sunday Chidzambwa, who made history by taking the Warriors to the African Cup of Nations tournament for the first time and guiding Dynamos to the final of the African Champions League, has finally received due recognition from the regional Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa).
Chidzambwa was honoured together with veteran referee, Felix Tangawarima, who has trained coaches locally and regionally. Chidzambwa and Tangawarima were awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards at a glittering Cosafa Awards ceremony held in South Africa last week. Chidzambwa is an esteemed former Warriors and Dynamos coach who led the country’s flagship football team to its first Afcon finals in 2004. He is also a record four-time Cosafa Cup winner. Tangawarima is a respected former Fifa panel referee who has executed his duties with so much aplomb to earn international recognition.
“Cosafa has long envisaged having our own awards ceremony to pay tribute to those who continue to shine a positive light on the game in our region. Southern Africa has long been a leader on the continent for excellence and this is a way to highlight the achievements of not just players and coaches, but also those who lay the foundations for success with the hard work and dedication they put into the game. It is important that we celebrate our achievements and inspire the next generation of players, coaches, referees and administrators so that we can continue to grow the game in the region,” said Cosafa president Artur de Almeida e Silva ahead of the awards night.
The Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) took to its social media platforms to congratulate the two.
“Flying the flag with distinction! Congratulations to two legends of Zimbabwean football, Sunday “Mhofu” Chidzambwa and Felix Tangawarima — awarded the Lifetime Achievement in services to Coaching, and the Lifetime Achievement in services to Refereeing awards, respectively,” wrote Zifa.
South Africa dominated the awards. The awards honoured great football personalities drawn from 14 countries under Cosafa. The awards categories were Men’s Player of the Year, Women’s Player of the Year, Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year, Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year, Men’s Most Promising Player of the Year (aged 20 or under), Women’s Most Promising Player of the Year (aged 20 or under) and Male Coach of the Year. Female Coach of the Year, Male Referee of the Year and Female Referee of the Year were also honoured, including Lifetime Achievement awards handed to those who have shaped football in the region over several decades. Cosafa’s member associations are Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter