Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda
WHEN Khama Billiat strode onto the pitch for Kaizer Chiefs in the 2021 Caf Champions League final, it was not unfamiliar territory.
The bright lights, the swelling anticipation and the weight of expectation were scenes he had already lived through. For the soft-spoken star from Mufakose, the journey felt remarkably familiar, a script he had read before and a stage on which he had already earned his place.
Five years earlier, he had conquered Africa with Mamelodi Sundowns, helping the South African giants lift the continent’s most coveted club trophy. As another final beckoned, Billiat reflected on that rare experience with the calm certainty of a man who understood both the pain and glory that accompany football’s grandest occasions.
“I have had this journey before and I know how difficult it is. I know how great the feeling can be at the end, so it’s a movie that has happened before,” he told Goal.com, ahead of the final against Al Ahly.
Although Kaizer Chiefs would eventually fall 3-0 to the Egyptian giants at Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca, Billiat still carved his name deeper into African football history. By appearing in the final with two different clubs, he achieved a distinction unmatched by any other Zimbabwean footballer. It was another chapter in a career already rich with milestones, triumphs and moments that have elevated him into the pantheon of Zimbabwean football greats.
His place in history is secure. Alongside Chris Semakweri, who won the competition with TP Mazembe, and Cuthbert Malajila and Devine Lunga, who tasted continental glory with Mamelodi Sundowns, Billiat belongs to an exclusive club of Zimbabweans who have reached the summit of African club football. Yet for a player whose career has been defined by an insatiable hunger for excellence, history alone has never been enough.
Now, at 36, Billiat finds himself returning to familiar continental battlegrounds, but with a different badge on his chest and a different mission in his heart. This time, he will carry the hopes of a Zimbabwean club.
Scottland’s maiden Caf Champions League adventure begins on Sunday when the Zimbabwean champions welcome Eswatini side Nsingizini Hotspurs to the National Sports Stadium in a preliminary round first-leg encounter. For many of Scottland’s players, it is a first taste of African club football.
For Billiat, it is a return to a world he knows intimately, a world shaped by long journeys, hostile away grounds, tactical battles and unforgettable nights.
“The Caf Champions League brings back memories but it’s a reminder of the work at hand and how hard we should work as a team to achieve good results,” Billiat told Zimpapers Sports Hub.
There is perhaps no player better equipped to guide Scottland through the complexities of African competition.
His football résumé reads like a journey across Southern African football’s grandest stages, from Harare to Cape Town, Pretoria to Johannesburg, and now back home again. Along the way, he has gathered lessons that cannot be learned from coaching manuals or tactical presentations.
Chief among those lessons is the understanding that talent and money alone rarely guarantee success in Africa.
The significance of Sunday’s encounter has not been lost on Scottland president Pedzai “Scott” Sakupwanya, who on Friday night announced a staggering incentive package designed to motivate his players. Sakupwanya pledged US$20 000 for every goal scored, while flamboyant businessman Wicknell Chivayo promised a further US$50 000 for the team.
Such figures would capture anyone’s attention, but Billiat understands that continental success is built on foundations far deeper than financial rewards. For him, the formula remains beautifully simple.
“The most important lessons should be hard work and team work. With hard work and team work we won it (CAF Champions League) with Mamelodi Sundowns. Also with hard work and team work we almost won it with Kaizer Chiefs when we eventually lost in the final,” said Billiat.
Those words carry weight because they come from experience. Billiat has walked the road before.
He has felt the exhilaration of lifting the trophy and the heartbreak of watching it slip away at the final hurdle. He knows that African football rewards resilience, discipline and unity far more than individual brilliance.
His own continental story includes many memorable moments. During his time at Kaizer Chiefs, he also featured in the Caf Confederation Cup and produced one of the competition’s standout performances when he scored a stunning hat-trick in a 4-0 demolition of Zanzibar’s Zimamoto FC during a preliminary round fixture in November 2018.
It is the kind of performance that defined much of his career.
Since making his top-flight debut for CAPS United in 2010, Billiat has enjoyed a remarkable football journey that has carried him through Ajax Cape Town, Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs, Yadah Stars and now Scottland. Many players fade quietly with age. Billiat, however, continues to defy the passage of time.
Sixteen years after first stepping onto the professional stage, he remains influential, respected and capable of deciding matches.
Yet longevity does not happen by accident.
“Growing older means working extra hard for one to be able to at least try and keep up with the younger ones. It’s no hidden secret,” revealed Billiat.
The honesty of that admission offers a glimpse into the mindset that has sustained him for so long.
Behind the silky touches, explosive runs and memorable goals lies a relentless commitment to self-improvement. While younger players may rely on youthful energy, Billiat understands that experience must be matched by hard work if it is to remain relevant.
That philosophy has found a natural home under Scottland coach Norman Mapeza, a man who played an important role during Billiat’s early years with the national team and who now finds himself working alongside one of Zimbabwe’s most decorated footballers once again.
“He (Mapeza) is a coach that has higher expectations. I enjoy working with him because he pushes us to be better than yesterday all the time. It pushes everyone to grow in their game.”
The reunion appears a natural fit. Mapeza’s exacting standards complement Billiat’s professionalism, creating an environment where complacency struggles to survive. Together, they share a determination to ensure Scottland’s continental debut is more than a brief cameo.
No account of Billiat’s career would be complete without mentioning Knowledge Musona, the friend, teammate and football companion whose journey has mirrored his own for almost two decades.
The pair emerged from Aces Youth Soccer Academy during the late 2000s before forging one of the most celebrated partnerships in Zimbabwean football history. Together they thrilled Warriors supporters, carrying the nation’s hopes at the 2017 and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals and cementing their status among the country’s finest-ever players.
Now fate has brought them together once more.
At Scottland, their experience has become one of the club’s greatest assets as it prepares to step onto the continental stage for the first time.
“Knowledge (Musona) is an amazing teammate who is always concerned with other people’s growth. I am happy to have shared the stage with him most of my career and now we share the same club on the continental stage. We are looking forward to giving our very best,” said Billiat.
There is something fitting about this latest chapter. As Scottland prepares to embark on an ambitious African adventure, two of Zimbabwe’s most accomplished football sons stand at the heart of the project. They arrive armed not only with talent but also with decades of collective experience, countless memories and lessons gathered from football’s highest levels.
