adminDanai Chitakasha
Special Correspondent
WHEN school football was still highly regarded, being a member of the team was very special.
And, it used to come with some favours.
Writing in his autobiography, legend Japhet “Short Cat” Mparutsa dealt with this issue.
“At Chitsere Primary School (in Mbare), we went the whole season unbeaten, the teachers were happy,’’ he said.
‘’And, during lunchtime, we were given the special food from the food and nutrition department.
‘’We became the envy of all the other students.”
Such was the respect, accorded to footballers, teachers would go the extra mile to keep them happy.
At secondary school, the first team players had another advantage, they had the attention of all the beautiful girls.
Many relationships developed, and some ended in marriage, in the long run.
Even those relationships, which did not go past the school days, had their moments in the sun.
A good player would have a dedicated female watching every move on the touchline. The other girls would join in songs of encouragement.
There is nothing like a sweet female voice, in the background, to motivate the warrior on the pitch.
Often enough, a bit of showboating to capture the attention of the female students, was inevitable. It was no longer just football, the mission had become bigger.
Those who played high school football can relate to this.
Football was fun and the second term of school was the term.
But, for others, the spotlight was not their piece of cake.
Such was the story of Christopher Chavhungama, the left-footer who played for BAT Ramblers in the ‘80s, and later for ZRP Tomlinson.
Chris, as he was known in football circles, attended St. Peters Kubatana in Highfield from 1980 to 1982.
The school also had the likes of bustling striker Francis Nechironga, superfit midfielder Titus Chigumbura, the talented Darlington Choto and the likable Weston Mvembe, the first man to go by the nickname “Jibha”.
We called him “Sekuru Jibha”, other “Jibhas” came later but Weston was the original. All the above players were very happy to feature for the school team, with all the benefits which came with such exploits. Chris was an exception, he kept his football talent far from the madding crowd, so to speak. His classmates, teachers, and even the school coach did not know. How he managed to pull it off for three years will forever be a mystery.
While he kept his talent from our powerful school team, Chris was secretly playing for BAT Ramblers in the Northern Region Division One.
He kept his secret going for a while, until he played a blinder of a game, in one match.
One of our teachers bought the morning newspaper, as teachers tended to do, those days.
Teachers had a thing with newspapers, it was rare to see a male teacher without a newspaper in his back pocket.
As they say, “the truth will out “ and, for our man, it came that morning when the teacher read the paper, which had rave reviews of “Christopher Chavhungama the St. Peters Kubatana schoolboy!”
St. Peters Kubatana?
That triggered the interest of our teacher, who presented the good tidings to the Headmaster, as soon as he arrived at the school that morning.
The next day at assembly, Chris was presented to the whole school.
“You play for the school before you play for BAT Ramblers,” the headmaster said, as he unveiled the new star.
The rest as, they say, is history.
Our school team became even stronger, we had a new weapon, the silky skills of Chris.
“He (Chris) was left-footed, humble and a dribbler,’’ said Francis Nechironga.
‘’Chris was very good with crosses but was not blessed with speed and strength.
‘’He also scored some beautiful goals when he cut-in from the wing.’’
Chris later joined the police force, since he was now playing for ZRP Tomlinson.
Sadly, he died in some unfortunate circumstances.
I was gutted when I heard about this.
But, what a player he was and I will always remember him as the “The Reluctant Schoolboy Hero!”
Online Reporter