Soccer coaching course begins

Ricky Zililo Sports Reporter
THE high-profile Caf C Licence soccer coaching course starts today in Victoria Falls with Gibson Homela set to conduct the opening lessons.This is the first time for the Caf C course to be held outside Harare since 2010. The course is open to Zimbabwe Soccer Coaches Association Level Three and Four certificate holders and will end on 23 September.

In a telephone interview from Harare yesterday, the Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze said everything is set for the coaching clinic and a Caf instructor from Egypt is expected next week.

“Gibson Homela will assist a Caf instructor who will only be arriving next week. What we are saying as Zifa is that we must have a big pool of instructors and avoid a situation where courses seem to be a one man show. We are aware that some people were thinking that since the technical director (Nelson Matongorere) has been suspended then there was doubt about this Caf C Licence course in Victoria Falls. We want to be clear that the Caf C Licence is run by the football motherbody and no individual has a hold on the course,” said Mashingaidze.

Mashingaidze said they are still waiting for Caf to send the name of the instructor and his travelling itinerary.
A number of seasoned coaches are expected to attend the course in the resort town. Among those that are likely to be part of this class are Bantu Rovers’ Thulani Sibanda, Gift Lunga (Senior), Highlanders assistant coach Bekithemba Ndlovu and How Mine’s Sheunesu Chaka.
Dumile Mpofu of Victoria Falls who was unjustly suspended from the second group of the Caf C Licence in 2010 by Nelson Matongorere after being accused of allowing a former Warrriors coach a chance to copy would also be part of the Victoria Falls class.

“I am very much looking forward to finally getting this high level certificate after being chased away by Matongorere who had said I copied when in actual fact it was another coach (name supplied) who was copying from me.

That (suspension) was a setback for my coaching career but that’s water under the bridge and because of my outcry after being chased away, it made me famous as people wanted to know who really is Dumile Mpofu,” said Mpofu.

He was in the same class that had Peter Ndlovu, ex-national team coach Norman Mapeza, Agent Sawu, Dumaza Dube, Monomotapa’s gaffer Biggie Zuze, Taurai Mangwiro of Caps United and Triangle’s Gishon Ntini.