MAPEZA’S FOUR-PEAT

Sports Reporter

NORMAN Mapeza has won FOUR league titles on the bounce!

That’s a fact and those who are crediting him with only three of the last four league titles, which FC Platinum have won, are getting it wrong.

Their claim is based on the fact that Mapeza left the Zvishavane giants, midway in the season, during the 2019 championship campaign.

The former Warriors skipper and coach waved goodbye to his employers in the Midlands after having secured a job at South African Premiership side Chippa United.

Lizwe Sweswe, his assistant, took charge, for the remainder of the season, and guided FC Platinum to glory in the championship.

They needed a last day victory over CAPS United, who had appeared in control of the race, before their world came tumbling down, in the final two matches of the season.

The champions dealt with the pressure, which was thrown at them, in that winner-take-all showdown, at the National Sports Stadium, and powered to a 1-0 win.

It secured them a third straight title.

But, is it fair to try and deny Mapeza his glory?

Mapeza had guided the platinum miners in 23, of their 34, league matches, at the time he decided to leave the club, in September 2019.

That’s 67.64 percent of the league matches, which is a huge chunk of the championship race.

Sweswe, on his own, completed the remaining 11 matches, which is 32.35 percent of the league matches.

In his 23 matches in charge, Mapeza had led FC Platinum to 11 wins, seven draws and five defeats, earning his team 40 out of a possible 69 points.

By the end of the season, FC Platinum won the championship after accruing 62 points from their 34 matches. This means that, in terms of percentage, Mapeza contributed 64.5 percent of the points, which the platinum miners won that season.

To try and ignore such a massive contribution would be grossly unfair to Mapeza.

There are no rules in the PSL which say that a coach can only be deemed to have won a league championship if he completes the season in charge of the team.

Given the league allows for someone to be considered for the Soccer Star of the Year awards, if he plays at least half the season, then surely there is no way Mapeza can be considered to have not won the league championship in 2019.