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Swazi Sport with Noel Munzabwa
FORMER Highlanders player, Hloniphani Ndebele has truly hung his soccer boots and taken up a role in junior development soccer coaching after finally moving from the MTN Premier League of Eswatini.
BMETRO Sports tracked down the Bulawayo-born ex-player to the municipality of Randburg located in the north west of Johannesburg. Here the Zimbabwe football son whose loyalty to the game spans almost two decades has got down to the business of honing future little galaxies at a sprouting soccer academy.
Ndebele confirmed the development in an interview this week.
“After hanging my boots I decided to help future football stars realise their dream the same way Ali Dube helped me. It was with help of my childhood friend Shayne Mushekwa who helped hook up with this academy in South Africa.
“I have found myself at a multi sporting discipline academy called ‘I have a talent Academy’ though the soccer face is called Super Legend Academy. It has been going on for a while now with sound financial backing from sponsors.
“It’s a two-pronged approach where we have paying players but further extend it to the less privileged talented players as well. For me it is a dream come true because my burning desire is to shape someone’s future soccer career,” said Ndebele.
It is probably unimaginable for many grassroots soccer coaches like legendary Ali Baba Dube or talent identification that in his input into a player a replica of his works would be produced. Such is the football life cycle which can’t be ignored.
That product lived up to that billing.
Ndebele played for all Bosso juniors before graduating into the first team in 2002. He played for Bosso seniors until he was loaned to Railstars before leaving Zimbabwe in 2009 to join Manzini Wanderers here in Eswatini.
Having arrived in Swaziland almost a decade ago with hugely followed Manzini Wanderers his first port of call lasting two seasons, Ndebele became a household name rising to become the best paid soccer player in the country.
He literally swept individual awards boards and was much sought after player at one time being subjected to a tug of war between Mbabane Highlanders and Manzini Sundowns. However, he had turned out a pale shadow in the last two seasons courting negative publicity.
@NoelMunzabwa
Online Reporter