The remarkable journey of Chamunorwa Maphosa and Makokoba Tigers FC

SO many real heroes live in our midst but are rarely celebrated for unearthing gems that the country has celebrated on the field, courts, tracks and roads in Zimbabwean sport.

Beginning today Saturday Chronicle will run a weekly column that seeks to unearth those community and sport champions that you don’t know but built the foundation of many a star.

Today we feature little known Chamunorwa Maphosa of Makokoba Tigers FC, a team with juniors who play in the Bulawayo Province Junior Soccer League.

Despite handling the likes of Nqobizitha Masuku and Godfrey Makaruse both of whom have made names for themselves in Zimbabwe football, Maphosa is among thousands whose great work was hijacked. This came by after their products’ brilliance got a platform to be amplified elsewhere.

Not every good player started at Highlanders, AmaZulu, Bulawayo Wanderers, Railstars and Zimbabwe Saints. There are so many relatively obscure clubs and individuals like Maphosa who crafted the script that made Peter Ndlovu, Honour Gombami, Thulani Ncube, Zenzo Moyo, Thabani Moyo, Thabani Masawi and Innocent and Rahman Gumbo who have seen recognition elude them.

Touched by seeing some boys from his EmaTongeni neighbourhood of Makokoba Flats, Maphosa decided promptly to save them.

“I could not stand seeing the boys arrested regularly for stealing minor stuff like shoe polish. What touched me most was that a stone’s throw at the Lobengula Street Park, there would be some of their colleagues playing near Gertrude Hostel I then set it upon myself to have the boys playing there regularly. That gave birth to Makokoba City Warriors.

“We started in Division Three and we were promoted up to Division One. We have produced players like Nqobizitha Masuku who now plays in Botswana and Highlanders’ Godera, Godfrey Makaruse. There are so many like Matriples Muleya who is at Triangle, Nickson Gama who is at Bulawayo Chiefs, Brendon Mpofu who is at Dynamos, Gillian Nyathi, Darlington Munkuli and Prince Ndlovu who are at Highlanders,” said Maphosa.

Maphosa, 70, said eight players were this year released to Highlanders FC’s development side who in return gave them 10 soccer balls.

“We are happy to see our local club that I support Highlanders FC getting our players. We are doing a great job of ensuring that our teams do not buy players from elsewhere but use home grown talent,” said Maphosa.
Raising a child, Maphosa says, is a community responsibility hence his efforts of trying to develop very positive youngsters from Makokoba.

“In the community I always try to ensure our children are kept occupied and with high moral values. Now I’m playing the overseer role, there is Wilton Kwenda my former player standing in as coach. Whenever there are disciplinary issues I do not hesitate to come and deal with it even to an extent of tearing the youngster’s Zifa licence. Discipline is a foundation pillar for my boys, that is why I came to work with them even sacrificing going to church just to be with the team,” said Maphosa.

As a community builder, he said it is ever painful at times plucking a boy who is a bad influence out of the group as soccer teams are a small society expected to correct wayward characters.

“It pains to tell the boy to go home or join another club. We are parents, it is our failure so we have to correct some of these kids early,” said Maphosa whose football team is based at Thabiso Youth Centre where they moved to from the Lobengula Street Park as City Warriors before changing to Tigers.

He said changing to Tigers FC was forced by financial challenges.
“That has been our biggest challenge in the last 23 years. We have no steady sponsorship, we rely on donations from members of our community with Rambo Milo, Ngoni Nyakudziwanza, Shadreck Sibanda, James Sithole and one Ossie from South Africa keeping us going.

“We are dreaming big, we need sponsorship for the boys. Our approach is two-fold, we want them kept away from crime and at the same time pave their paths towards playing as professional footballers. Some have gone through our systems in the past 23 years and gone all the way to stardom,” said Maphosa.

He recalls Methembe Ndlovu, the former Highlanders midfielder and coach, coming to Thabiso and talking to them under a tree on the northern tip of the field at Thabiso.

“Methembe said there was something happening that he needed Nqobizitha Masuku for, the rest is history, the boy never came back and rose to one of the best players around through Bantu Rovers,” said Maphosa.

He bemoaned big clubs’ bullying tactics where they get talent from small teams and do not compensate.
“We make stars. Appreciate us, invest in us and we will give you more and don’t forget to acknowledge where you tapped from,” said Maphosa who in his younger days played for Matabeleland High City alongside Albert “Ali” Dube when he arrived from Buhera in 1974.

Maphosa also played for Chronicle FC in Division One alongside Joshua Mutize and Gibson Bhinya.
With support, these obscure football projects can achieve more and the coaches and officials running the teams are sport’s unsung heroes.

Most of those hogging the limelight found stars ripe and ready and simply provided a platform to be the national and international showcase.