Online Reporter
Onward Gangata, Zimpapers Sports Hub
KWEKWE UNITED owner Phil Makekera has announced plans to sell his shares in the club, citing deepening financial challenges and a punishing debut season in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.
Makekera insists he has not resigned, despite a leaked message from the club’s executive WhatsApp group suggesting otherwise.
“It’s not true, I have not resigned,” he told Zimpapers Sports Hub. “How can I resign from my own team? I am simply selling shares to interested parties and have been looking for suitors for a while.”
Still, the leaked message — now widely circulated online — reads like a farewell.
“It is with a heavy heart that I’m tendering my resignation from the team with immediate effect. I want to concentrate on my family that I have neglected for years pursuing this project. I will relinquish my shareholding as follows: 20 percent to the community, 80 percent to business people.”
It’s the latest twist in what has already been a turbulent year for the Goldminers.
Kwekwe United sit bottom of the league with just eight points from 18 games, having suffered heavy defeats and holding the second-worst goal-scoring record in the PSL.
Behind the scenes, the club has been plagued by instability since the start of the season.
They’ve already parted ways with two coaches — Saul Chaminuka and Paul Chimalizeni — both under strained circumstances. Chaminuka left following disputes over performance targets and unpaid wages. The fallout escalated when Makekera filed a police report, accusing Chaminuka and his assistant Clemence Zuze of taking team property, including kits and equipment.
Chaminuka denied any wrongdoing and said he was preparing legal action.
“We’re compiling paperwork with my lawyers,” he said. “The match-fixing claims were false and damaging.”
Financial strain has been a recurring theme. Several players have reportedly gone unpaid, with some already leaving the club. A missed fixture against Herentals earlier this year resulted in a fine from the PSL — yet another blow to an already struggling operation.
Makekera, who has largely funded the club from his own pocket, says the goal now is to hand over to investors who can run the club more sustainably.
“This was a self-funded passion project. But now, we want partners. We want to turn this into a real football business,” he said.
There have been recent attempts to stabilise the club. Administrator Bridgette Mudhosi was appointed CEO, and a partnership was signed with South Africa’s Hellenic FC Academy to boost youth development. However, results on the pitch have yet to improve.
The dream of bringing top-flight football back to Kwekwe for the first time since Lancashire Steel folded in 2009 may not be over — but it now depends on someone new taking the wheel.
