adminFORMER Highlanders Football Club head of development Dumaza Dube, who was recently appointed Zifa Southern Region Division One side Bantu Rovers FC juniors co-ordinator has refuted allegations that he clandestinely “poached’’ players from the former.
The development has allegedly left the Highlanders leadership infuriated. The outspoken Dube, who had no running contract at Bosso, recently crossed the floor to Bantu Rovers where he is now employed as a juniors’ co-ordinator. His move is understood to have angered the Bosso leadership who said it was more than a coincidence that a number of their players had also left for the Methembe Ndlovu founded project.
“People were always suspecting that he was the one taking players to Bantu Rovers, now we have the proof. What pains the executive is that they had already appointed him, his letter of re-appointment was even there at the office but they learnt from the newspapers that he was now at Bantu Rovers. He was the head of junior development, he was assisting with all junior teams but in charge of the Under-14 and Under-16,’’ said an informant.
Dube, however, strongly denied the allegations saying he did not own any youngster.
“We only did trials last week, I don’t own players, and I haven’t taken any player. I cannot move with any player, Dumaza Dube moved to Bantu Rovers, I have moved because of my own reasons. I moved on my own, if a player has moved to Bantu Rovers, they went on their own,’’ said Dube.
“I have gotten myself into a good project with Bantu Rovers. For the first time there is a project that needs me as a teacher, it is a platform for growth for me. The project links junior development with schools. I feel fit to be part of that programme. Parents can decide to send their children to that project. Bantu Rovers have excellent projects that they are working on. The programme is for children from all over Zimbabwe, it combines education and sport.’’
The school teacher who started his Highlanders juniors coaching career in 2006 has vowed to build a name for himself at Bantu Rovers. He has also not ruled out a return to Highlanders one day saying the club gave him fame in coaching.
He opened up on the reasons why he left Highlanders, stating that he quit the 90-year old club because he did not have a contract for the whole of the 2015.
Dube said he was disheartened by the fact the club only offered their developmental coaches one-year contracts, a period in which no coach can achieve tangible success while at Bantu he was given a three-year deal.
“Highlanders is always a club that any successful coach would want to associate with, if you want to build your name. I left Highlanders on amicable terms, it is a big brand, and it gave me the name. My contract expired end of 2014, in 2015 I was just waiting for a word that ‘I had been fired’, I was just working. I will build an empire at Bantu from scratch, God gave me the talent it will work for me at Bantu,’’ boasted Dube.
He revealed that he delayed putting his signature on the Bantu Rovers contract hoping that the Bosso officials would contact him but when he heard no word from Bosso he put pen to paper on 13 January.
Dube also said he was frustrated by the lack of a “living programme” for the juniors at Highlanders despite his efforts to craft a strategy that included turning Highlanders juniors into a fully fledged academy.
To prove that he loved his former club, Dube said last year he made sure that all junior players with the potential to make it into the first team were given contracts to avoid a scenario where they were snatched up by other clubs.
Dube is credited with unearthing talented players such as Ntokozo Tshuma, Zephaniah Ngodzo and Joel Ngodzo. Other players who passed through his hands at a junior level are Donovan Bernard and Mgcini Sibanda who were part of his team for the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore.
Online Reporter