adminPetros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
MEDIA personality Kennedy Makambira has left the Confederation of African Football, four years after he rose to prominence at the Cairo-based organisation where he also became the first Zimbabwean to work full time at the continental body.
Makambira arrived at the Caf headquarters in Egypt in December 2010 after successfully manning the Fifa media centre at Ellis Park during the World Cup that was hosted by South Africa.
He became the first English editor of cafonline.com (the official CAF website) and the second man from Southern Africa after retired referee Bester Kalombo to work full time at the Caf headquarters.
Four years after his meeting with then Caf deputy general secretary Hicham El Amrani in Johannesburg laid the platform for him to join the continental body’s media division and ensured he would regularly interact with coaches, players and administrators from across the continent, Makambira believes he has garnered enough experience to look for fresh challenges elsewhere.
The 44-year-old former Prince Edward School sports master, who has worked in the media division at two World Cups, as many African Cup of Nations and an equal number of African Nations Championships said yesterday he would take a short break back home before heading for Europe with England the most likely destination.
“Although I am leaving the Caf headquarters, I will continue working with football and with them but at a different level and different scale so speak. I will also still be working at Caf events so there will be a continuation of some sort.
“But for now it is for family reasons why I am moving on,’’ Makambira said.
Makambira’s family is based in England and the former broadcaster also revealed that he was eager to pursue his coaching badges with the England Football Association.
“I am also not getting any younger and I still want to continue to pursue my dream to attain the FA coaching badges.
“I already have a Level II badge and I would want to do the Uefa part B course, but ideally I would want to come back home and partake in the football at home and hopefully by the next World Cup in Russia I should have returned full time to the experience I am gaining to use’’.
Makambira spoke with satisfaction of his time at the Caf headquarters and the changes that came in the media section after El Amrani assumed the post of general secretary. “When I arrived, the Caf Media Division only had three people working under then director of Communications Souleymane Habouba.
“They didn’t have an English editor, they only had an Arabic editor and I was the first one on the website. My task was to ensure that English speaking countries on the continent got coverage.
“We were able to push Southern Africa and countries like Lesotho also got their fair share of coverage and I am pleased to say that even as I leave my colleague Erick Mwanza from Zambia who is now at Caf will carry on with the torch together with Kofi Adae from Ghana.
“Our first assignment as the English desk was the 2011 CHAN tournament in Sudan which was covered extensively by cafonline.com. In terms of experience I also worked closely with Fifa even after the 2010 World Cup because I was at the 2011 Fifa Under-17 championships in Mexico. But after working at the Under-17, Under-20 and Under-23 African championships tournaments as well as the AFCON and CHAN my dream is to come back home and help the local media and local association (Zifa) in handling such big events.
“Football has many facets that are inter-related to the actual events on the pitch and the local game must appreciate the role of the media,’’ Makambira said.
Online Reporter