admin
Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN players and officials may not have won any awards at the at the inaugural COSAFA awards in South Africa on Thursday but the country was represented on the podium by legendary former Warriors coach Sunday ‘Mhofu’ Chidzambwa and ex-referee Felix Tangawarima who were honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Southern African football body.
Chidzambwa, who is the most successful coach in COSAFA Cup, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement in Services to Coaching while Tangawarima’s efforts were acknowledged with the Lifetime Achievement in Services to Refereeing.
Coming just a few years after retiring from active coaching, Chidzambwa should have found great cheer from the recognition as it is not every day that local officials get such recognition for their efforts.
The 72-year-old coach has made extraordinary accomplishments in the COSAFA Cup, where he has won a record four titles and never lost a match outright.
The former Dynamos and Zimbabwe captain and coach lifted the COSAFA Cup in 2003, 2009 on home soil and the 2017 and 2018 editions in Rustenburg and Polokwane, South Africa respectively.
Only two other coaches, his late young brother Misheck in 2000 and Charles Mhlauri (2005) have ed Zimbabwe to COSAFA glory.
Zimbabwe’s six titles are only second to Zambia who hold the record with seven and that is thanks largely to the mentorship of Chidzambwa, who has never been beaten outright in the COSAFA Cup after leading Zimbabwe in 19 matches in the tournament.
The veteran coach has been keeping a low profile since he quit his job as Warriors coach in 2019, and from active football coaching a year later.
However, the former defender briefly bounced back for a once-off assignment when he led the Warriors against Namibia during the celebrations to mark President Mnangagwa’s inauguration last year.
Previously he had several stints with the national team and holds the distinction of being the first to lead the Warriors to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations in 2004.
He guided the team to the tournament again in Egypt in 2019.
The 72-year-old mentor raked several trophies with Dynamos at the height of his caching career and took the popular club to the final of the 1998 CAF Champions League.
It remains the only time that a local club has reached the final of a continental club competition.
Tangawarima, a revered figure across the African refereeing fraternity, has done much to develop match officials on the African continent in the last few decades, but especially Southern Africa, and was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement for services to refereeing.
Tangawarima, who is now as a CAF senior referees’ instructor, has worked extensively for the development of the refereeing standards in Eastern and Southern Africa.
A deeply religious man, Tangawarima paid tribute to his family and his United Methodist Church members for standing by him in long career as a match official.
“I would want to thank COSAFA for bestowing me with this prestigious award.
“I have all been passionate about doing my job, especially developing and leading the referees throughout the entire continent,” Tangawarima said.
“But being recognised in this manner is something I will always cherish for years to come.
“Again, I would want to thank Zimbabweans in general for the support they have given me over all these years.
“Sometimes, they may not know what it means to me when they talk positive things about how I do my work. It always encourages me to continue working hard so that I don’t let them down.
“My family has also been a pillar of my strength.
“My football family in Zimbabwe and the football association, I cannot do this without belonging to the mother body (ZIFA).
“My colleagues at my church Inner City United Methodist Church for all the prayer session they do for me.”.
Tangwawarima said he also felt even more honoured to receive the award in the presence of the Sports and Recreation Commission and the ZIFA Normalisation Committee leadership.
“I was humbled to have the chairman of the SRC (Gerald Mlotshwa), the director-general (Eltah Nengomasha), together with commissioners Nigel Munyati and others, the NC chairman Mr Lincoln Mutasa, witnessing the occasion and taking pictures with me, this gave me a huge sense of belonging and being loved.
“I also thank the media for always highlighting the work I would have done, which resulted in me getting this award.
“I am sure this award will inspire upcoming sportspersons to know that they can do it, with hard work and commitment.”
Some of the local referees and coaches who have been found wanting in their duties could probably take a leaf from each of Chudzambwa and Tangawarima’s success stories.
The awards night, however, belonged mainly to the players and coaches who walked home with various accolades.
Held for the first time in the history of COSAFA, the ceremony at the exquisite Sandton Convention Centre on Thursday drew some of the luminaries of the game from this part of the continent and was a platform to celebrate success in 2023.
South African striker Percy Tau and Zambian forward Racheal Kundananji took home the best player prizes at the inaugural awards, itself a glittering gala ceremony.
COSAFA executive director Sue Destombes said the organisation was proud to have finally put together an event to acknowledge the talent in Southern Africa.
“These awards have been a long time coming as we felt there is the need to celebrate our successes as a region and show the togetherness and spirit of Ubuntu that we have among all our COSAFA nations.
“We have enormous talent on and off the pitch and while we do acknowledge these winners for their outstanding contributions, we also recognise that there is much more for us to do to unlock the full potential we possess in Southern Africa,” said Destombes.
Online Reporter