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Raymond Jaravaza
LOCAL football never disappoints when it comes to intriguing drama on and off the field.
From players who sign contracts with two teams and end up sitting the rest of the season on the sidelines while their cases drag on in administrative processes.
One such case is that of Lawrence Mhlanga who joined FC Platinum without the blessings of his then club Chicken Inn in 2018.
The Gamecocks escalated the case with football mother-body Zifa and the player ended up spending the whole season without kicking the ball.
Who can forget the pending case of former Bulawayo Chiefs striker Obriel Chirinda who hasn’t kicked the ball for his new team Ngezi Platinum after Dynamos alleged he signed a contract with them only to disappear into thin air.
Chirinda has reportedly tried to pay back the US$6 000 in part payment that Dynamos gave him last year in a pre-season deal but the Harare giants flatly refused to take the money. Dynamos insist they want the player and not the money, reports say.
The latest drama involves coach Saul Chaminuka. As our readers may recall, he has been coaching Bikita Minerals in their maiden season in the Premier Soccer League. Speculation has been rife that the team was struggling financially and that Chaminuka wanted to ditch the ship.
Hwange on the other hand had just fired Nation Dube and his assistants for poor results. In Gweru, Tendai Chikuni was going through a bad patch with TelOne FC and the club bosses were not happy.
The chase for the signature of Chaminuka by both Hwange and TelOne FC thus began. Ground work by the teams began in earnest to “poach” the coach away from Bikita Minerals but the ensuing drama would leave both sides in limbo — albeit without their knowledge.
It is reported that Chaminuka told Hwange that he was interested in joining the club and the bosses at Chipangano started preparing for his arrival by sorting out his accommodation at the Colliery.
TelOne FC were also under the impression that Chaminuka was on the verge of joining the Midlands based team and went as far as organising a truck to pick up his belongings from Bikita. Both teams were surprised when on Tuesday, Chaminuka was unveiled by Green Fuel as their new coach after the Chisumbanje team fired Rodwell Dhlakama last month.
TelOne FC are now set to unveil former Dynamos coach Herbert Maruwa as their new coach. The WiFi boys are currently on 14th position on the log standings with 11 points from 11 rounds of matches. They have won two matches so far.
Hwange on the other side remain without a substantive coach after the departure of Dube.
Online Reporter