adminDaka, who made his name with a double against Arcadia in the 6-2 win in the Castle Cup final in 1970 while turning out for Hwange, before establishing himself as one of the best midfielders in the land while turning out for Highlanders and Olympics, became a coach of note in the mid-1980s.
With a star-studded side which had Tito Paketh, Mpumelelo Dzowa, Dumisani Nyoni, Douglas Mloyi, Richard Ndlovu, Abraham Madondo, Rahman Gumbo, Madinda Ndlovu, Willard Khumalo, the late Nhamo Shambira, Mercedes Sibanda and David Phiri, Bosso swept all silverware before them leading to a unique league and cup double in 1990.
In an interview yesterday Daka, who says sport has been his life, said he was eager to put on paper information about soccer in the country which he has gathered in almost 50 years as a practitioner.
“It might not be the most accurate in terms of detail, but it is an attempt to put into perspective the journey of the sport to this day. I have gathered a lot of information during my time as a player and coach which I believe should be passed on to the next generation. We were lucky that we found some pioneers of the game. They were able to tell us the history of sport especially soccer in this country,” said Daka.
The former Young Warriors and Warriors gaffer who is now a development coach in Botswana, said he would also touch on how soccer moved from being a pastime sport to professional in the 1960s.
“Soccer was promoted by our colonial masters through local authorities and mines apart from the missionaries. It was a pastime sport in which whites wanted to ensure blacks were kept occupied at beerhalls and soccer stadia within close proximity so that they could be called up at any time. They also wanted them kept busy so as not to be involved in politics.
“There were competitions among the amateur clubs like the Alick Stewart Trophy, Townsend and Butcher for Bulawayo clubs, and the Osborne Trophy for select teams representing towns and cities.
There are several individuals who made the game what it is who will be mentioned in the book,” said Daka.
Not to be left out, he said, would be splits which saw the birth of Cobras and Olympics from clubs like the Big Three and Highlanders.
“I will seek to tell it as it was on what led to the formation of Cobras and Olympics, the greatest players I played with and against, teams that I coached and their stars. I am still gathering information and open to more information about the game and its history,” said Daka.
He said despite a Bulawayo bias, he has also extended his coverage of soccer to write about football in Zimbabwe in general.
Daka said he had thought about the project for a while before beginning to gather information and writing it down over the last two years.
Not much is known about the history of the game in the country before the advent of professional football in 1963 a time one of the sport’s giants Dynamos was formed.
Online Reporter