Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
TRIBUTES continue pouring in for Zimbabwe football legend George Shaya, who died in Harare on Monday morning at the age of 77.
Popularly known as Mastermind, Shaya turned out for Dynamos during his heydays and is the only player to be named Soccer Star of the Year five times, a feat that has proved difficult to eclipse to this day.
Shaya is regarded as one of the finest footballers to ever wear the blue and white jersey of Dynamos.
Close friends and the football fraternity took to social media to pay tribute to one of the finest footballers to come out of Zimbabwe.
“Dynamos FC joins the whole nation in mourning the passing on of a sporting legend George ‘Mastermind’ Shaya. Upon retirement, Shaya assumed leadership roles at Dynamos and was chairman when we reached the Champions League final in 1998. Shaya was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Sports and Recreation Commission and remained a popular sport luminary up to his last day,” said Dynamos marketing and communications manager Yvonne Mangunda in a statement.
“Shaya’s name will live beyond his years and his contribution will continue to be spoken about because of his talent. A hero, an entertainer and a legend. A poster boy of Zimbabwe sports excellence.”
The Premier Soccer League said: “We mourn the death of one of football’s true greats, George Shaya. An integral part of Zim football history, he won the hearts of many with his unique talent on the ball. An extraordinary player who was crowned Soccer Star of the year a record five times. His legacy lives on.”
Deputy Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Tino Machakaire also sent a condolence message to the Shaya family.
“My deepest condolences to the Shaya family and the entire football fraternity on the untimely passing on of the legend George Shaya. We have been robbed as a nation and we cherish the legacy and the memories that he leaves behind. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” he said.
The football career of Shaya began in the streets of Harare’s high-density suburb of Mbare where he played from dawn to dusk with a ball moulded out of paper and plastic bags.
In 1980, after 17 seasons of top football in then Rhodesia, the diminutive Shaya was unquestionably the greatest locally produced player the country had known.
Online Reporter