Chronicle Editor
Lovemore Dube
WHEN the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season starts, sadly Zifa Southern Region championship winning coach Kudzayi Mhandire may not be anywhere near the bench.
Mhandire guided Arenel Movers to the country’s elite league last season after going 34 matches without a loss.
He may survive if the club assigns him another duty.
He is a Zifa Level Four certificate holder. In 2017 he was among a group of coaches who had paid to attend a Caf C licence in Plumtree Town but with Zimbabwe suspended from doing those courses after some irregularities were established by the Confederation of African Football (Caf), it meant a group of budding coaches were left in the cold.
Even those who had done Caf B licences were now ripe for the next stage which is Caf A which would enable them to sit on Premier League benches, were affected.
With new engagement processes and Zimbabwe keen to start all over again, the Zifa Normalisation Committee has said Caf B holders can sit on the bench for a Premier Soccer League side. They are also engaging Caf with a view of having the courses back as development has lagged over the years due to the suspensions.
“I am a Zifa Level Four holder. I had paid to do the Caf C licence in 2017 and it was abandoned in Plumtree after Zifa were suspended from conducting courses by Caf,” said Mhandire one of the country’s rising coaches.
He said he has plans to attend one in nearby Zambia.
“I am a due for a Caf C course that will take place in Zambia in mid-January,” said the man who calls himself Pochettino.
Who is Kudzayi Mhandire?
“I was born at Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo on July 14, 1975. I attended Chinotimba Primary School and Mosi Oa Tunya High School in Victoria Falls. I played football for Young Warriors in Victoria Falls before they changed to Intundla. I started coaching almost two decades ago when I took over FBC Falcons in the Bulawayo Amateur Football Association. I then got CIWU promoted to Division One in my maiden year with them after they had been relegated to Division Three. They were brought back to Division Two on sporting merit after they were adjudged to have discipline. I left them for Arenel in 2019 and finished third behind perennial campaigners Hwange and ZPC Hwange,” said Mhandire.
He is basking in the glory of having gone the whole season without a loss and having scored 78 goals while conceding a paltry five.
He described the arrival of former Bulawayo City goalkeeper Arusha Ngwenya as the turning point of the club. He made an immediate impact and went on to keep 29 clean sheets.
“We beefed up in midfield where we brought in Simon Munawa and Irvine Munkombwe, then youthful Leeroy Ndlovu who went on to chip in with a number of crucial goals for us and the right-back position where we had Kudzaishe Dzingwe. This paid dividends for us and the inclusion of returnee Arthur Ndlovu are the changes that made the real difference,” said Mhandire.
Mhandire believes the sky is the limit for himself and he awaits the next challenge in his career.
“The sky is the limit for me as I have been on the rise ever since I started coaching in the Bafa structures,” said Mhandire.
He said he always believed that it was possible to get promotion into the Premiership. But for him the turning point was beating main rivals ZPC Hwange.
“The reality sunk in when we beat our main rivals ZPC Hwange at their fortress Chakona Stadium. The year 2022 was my maiden season with them. They were a team that had just come from relegation, sadly in 2020 and 2021 there was no football because of Covid-19. There was a lot to change and implement while trying to strike the right balance and be different to 2022 where we finished third,” said Mhandire.
Beating ZPC Hwange at home and away were his 2023 season highlights while drawing with lowly Ajax in a match they missed a penalty, was a heartbreak for him.
“We missed an avalanche of chances,” he said.
He also praised his executive and backroom staff for a job well done.
“Personally I am team player. I don’t believe in succeeding as an individual. Football is a team effort and my backroom staff was key to the success. As head coach I surrounded myself with the right people to get results. We achieved because there was unity of purpose and God’s intervention too,” said Mhandire.
As for the future, Mhandire said God will provide the way forward.
Arenel have just engaged much travelled Juma Phiri as their administrator.
Bongani Ndlovu