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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
NGEZI Platinum executive Rumbidzai Muyambuki is probably one of the most underrated woman in football.
And she seems not to care.
Her work in the background is easily unrecognisable until one gives it an afterthought.
Accompanying the team manager Andrew Javachava, at his mother’s funeral in Glen Norah, Muyambuki never raised her hand for attention, as the media scrolled up and down for interviews with football personalities present.
She represented her club well as the only emissary from the Mhondoro team.
She doesn’t love attention and is only concerned about her work.
As she stresses, losing her mother at birth and enduring a nightmarish experience on her debut tournament in charge of Ngezi Scorpion Queens? are the two episodes which shaped her.
“I don’t know the face of my mother. She died in the aftermath of my delivery on mother earth,” she said.
“I lived in different places while growing up but one thing I would like to appreciate God is that he gave me a loving father (who passed away four years ago) and outstanding step mom and siblings.
“I didn’t see myself in the corridors of top flight football while growing up though.”
But,after enrolling for a teaching course at one of the leading teacher’s colleges in Harare, Muyambuki’s perception changed.
She would secure placement at Chishashe Primary School in Mhondoro, where her passion would be further stimulated, after she was appointed the school’s sports director.
“I loved netball and through National Association of Primary Schools (Naph) I got to understand more about sports administration.
“It was during that stint that I attained my first level coaching certificate in netball.”
Although she was also becoming interested in football, she would only start involving herself when she moved to a private primary school in Ngezi.
“As I experienced a lot in the school system, one thing that I picked was the neglect of grassroots issues.
“I realised there were so many talented footballers at the school in both girls and boys.
“That’s how I started a grassroots project for both girls and boys.
“The teams were unbeatable at competitions but I realised that I needed some qualifications to help me correctly nurture the youngsters which I did.”
The nearby Ngezi Platinum Stars took notice.
Then an ambitious women’s club Ngezi Scorpion Queens co-opted her into their technical team.
And, during her first tour of duty, tragedy struck.
“It was in 2018 when the Mighty Warriors technical team wanted to select a team which would go and represent the country in some tournament in Zambia when Ngezi Scorpion Queens were invited to a tournament in Bulawayo.
“Then, my goalkeeper Pamela Zhuwawu drowned. It was a nightmare.
“But I thank the stakeholders of the game who came out in full support.
“It was really a nightmare and I even considered quitting. For months that incident haunted me but I took some lessons from that experience.”
As her profile continued to grow, Muyambuki would be co-opted into the Ngezi Platinum Stars executive committee in 2019. She has since attained a referee’s licence just for the sake of comprehending the laws of the game.
“I feel that I am where I am supposed to be.
“But, I would like to thank the Ngezi Platinum Stars hierarchy for the support they give me every day.
“I will continue learning about the concepts of the game which keep on changing everyday.
“I am also calling upon authorities to work on bringing back courses so that our football develops with the right fundamentals.”
Online Reporter