the hand feeding spurs

Curtworth Masango
ZIMBABWE’S presence, and influence, in the English Premiership goes beyond the football pitch.

It’s not just about Marvelous Nakamba and Jordan Zemura.

At Tottenham Hotspur, a Zimbabwean kitchen gardener, Kuda Chimbudzi, is making his mark.

Chimbudzi runs a garden at the Spurs training base, Enfield Training Centre.

The Zimbabwean joined the facility in 2018 and he has now shared his story with BBC Sport.

Chimbudzi says he was inspired by his uncle, back home, who used to grow bananas and other fruits.

He looks after the Spurs garden, throughout the year, and he feeds up to a maximum number of 80 people, who work there, including the players, groundsmen, and other staff members.

The players include England captain Harry Kane and France World Cup winning skipper, Hugo Lloris .

In an interview with BBC he said:

“I’ve always been a kitchen gardener and this has always been my passion.

“I feel like I can use ornamental energies to actually make the edible plants look good.

“So, that was my inspiration.

“It was a dream come true to really come and work in something that I really like to do.

“We have got 65 beds. It’s an A-to-Z of veg from asparagus to zucchini. We have got all kinds of alliums, beans, chard.

“I have a limited photo period in winter and spring. I have ideal beds for me which I work with during the winter and the spring.

“When it gets too cold, we go into the greenhouse. We need a constant supply of our cresses, our leafy greens.

“I know that, if I maximise and containerise the greenhouse, I can still sustain supplying that during the winter.”

He added:

“The kitchen garden was the idea of the chairman Daniel Levy. It was set up based on sustainability, ecology, and nutrition.

“I would like to encourage the youths to come around and have a walk and see things that inspire them.”

“I’ve got 40 to 45 runner beans in a space of two metres.

“In terms of immunity-boosting, bones, strength, and regenerative processes that go on within the body, it’s the veggies and herbs that have got that power.

“Growing in Zimbabwe, everybody got little pieces of land. My uncle is a grower. He used to grow bananas and all kinds of fruits.

“He was what we call a subsistence farmer. So I learned a lot from him. There is a therapeutic feeling that you get from growing veg. seeing the results of your hard work.”