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Lovemore Dube
THE 1976 Highlanders FC club split which gave birth to Olympics was not the first in the history of the club.
Edward “Magungubala” Dlamini says there was one in 1963 which nearly ended the club’s existence. But his arrival and the resilience of personalities like legendary leftback Edward Dzowa, Paul Tsumbe and a number of other players who soldiered on, had laid the foundation for the future of the club.
The split came by after the city’s three top amateur clubs, Matabeleland Highlanders, Mashonaland United and Northern Rhodesia opted to form the Big Three Football Club. This was at a time semi-professional football and a multi-racial league was being introduced and forming the Big Three meant resources could be channeled to one club.
The project however, did not last long. Dlamini, also known as Mapopota because he talked a lot during matches urging his teammates to track opponents, trap for offside or go all out in attack, joined Highlanders in 1963.
He had started off as a striker at Lobengula Primary School before joining Alpha. Like most teenagers of his time he spent a lot of time playing football in the streets and would occasionally walk from Q Square Mzilikazi to Mckeurtan to play football with his peers from the ghetto against some Indian youths.
In his youth, Dlamini rubbed shoulders with Justin Sibanda, Enos Ndlovu, Jacko Tshuma and Mike Mpofu whose L Square were inter-square champions.
“The boys’ clubs and street football deterred us from vice. We had somewhere to spend the day without being involved in mischief. The city council clubs all over Bulawayo were key to shaping responsible young adults.
“I had prior to my going to Zambia been invited to join Highlanders. It was the family supported club and my dad Dududu Dlamini was club treasurer around 1952. To be honest I did not play for Highlanders when there used to be a soccer pitch at Renkini as I enjoyed playing with the boys in the streets,” said Dlamini.
Dlamini said the love of the club had prompted him to join it at the hour of need in 1963.
“I was born into Highlanders and attended school with the likes of Silas Ndlovu who showed his intelligence from an early age and I was not surprised when he achieved so much with the club later. Most of the players left for Big Three FC leaving Highlanders to crumble. Edward Dzowa, Paul Tsumbe, former referee Nichodimus Sibanda, Ralph Dube and a few other players decided to stay.
“It is the time I joined Highlanders. Previously I had declined to join Bosso because they had a good striker in Ralph Dube so I did not want to compete with him. He was a good forward so when the other guys left for Big Three there was a vacuum, I wanted to save Bosso from extinction because it’s a royal team. We worked hard to get players to stay afloat,” he said.
Another problem surfaced.
“At first they did not want us to retain our franchise in Bafa because they argued that with the formation of Big Three to play in the national league, there no longer was Matabeleland Highlanders. The sticking problem with Bafa (Bulawayo Amateur ‘African’ Football Association) was that there was no money in the amateur ranks.
“People wanted to turn professional but there were some sceptical people at Highlanders who did not want to see the franchise relinquished rightly thinking that the team had been bequeathed for generations to come. I have to say people like then chairman Stephen Ncube, a Falala who worked for Bulawayo City Council fought hard for Bosso to retain its name and franchise. Falala helped us get a uniform and brought in a young player, Tayengwa. One Tapson Ncube was key as well in ensuring that we picked up the pieces with the aid of Dzowa too in recruiting other players with Nichodimus Sibanda, a right winger keeping the uniforms and balls.
“Sadly Stephen Ncube was to die years later after being struck by a bolt of lightning while at Ground Three at Barbourfields Stadium. He was a selfless man for the club,” said Dlamini who had played for Alpha prior to joining Highlanders.
He described the first days of the club as trying. He said Wankie Football Club later to change to Hwange FC had too been helpful. The coalminers asked Highlanders to come to Hwange for a friendly match and in turn promised to reciprocate where Bosso would get all proceeds from the gate takings to buy balls and uniforms and use for operational purposes.
“Hwange were good to Highlanders. The relationship between the two teams dates back to 1963. It’s been friendly fire either way and fans rarely fight against each other as we have always considered ourselves brothers. They also gave us a player Andrew Scrupata Jele who was a valuable addition and helped strengthen the side in 1963 onwards,” said Dlamini.
He said after the Big Three, players and supporters developed a very close bond and the slogan Ongafuniyo Kayekele emerged to chide those that had turned their back.
But the Big Three project did not last long with Cobras being formed taking on board some of the Highlanders players and officials. He said expectations were high among those that had gone for the project and when they realised there was no money as had been envisaged, they turned their backs on the club.
Mashonaland United later to be Zimbabwe Saints, got back to its original name with Northern Rhodesia later to change to City Pirates with its legendary goalkeeper John Walker Chipukula Phiri.
Dlamini said club legend Mackenzie Sibanda who had also gone to the Big Three Project had returned with Jambok also to play a key role in shaping Highlanders in the 1960s.
Brothers Jacko and Joshua Tshuma, Dlamini said, were key in the re-building stage with the club not faring well in competitions.
But the period of 1964-66 had seen a number of young players join from schools and youth clubs.
The young players who came on board were Barry Daka, Lawrence Phiri, Billy Sibanda, Tommy Masuku, Ananias Dube and Daniel Bingadadi Ncube.
Dlamini remembers one incident in 1968 after a decision had been arrived at to join the national football framework when they were due to play Dynamos. He said in the week leading to the match, he had by then switched to central defence and let a loose ball in a match against Eastern Brothers go past him for the goalkeeper.
“I shouted that it was the goalkeeper’s ball. The goalie fumbled with the Howard Maviza shot and let it cross the line. The club was very angry over that.
“The goalkeeper blamed me and even said he would not travel to Harare for the match if I am in the team. Management then suspended me. But that was not communicated to the players who kept on asking me why I was not coming to training. I did not say a word and they insisted that I travel but I refused. They were whacked 6-0 and on their return they said they were even surprised that Dynamos players were asking about the missing good defender,” he said.
He said the club accused him of inciting players to demand money.
Dlamini was a good player by all standards of his generation.
The best were identified for the Bulawayo Select or Pick Red Army.
“I was part of that select team of Bulawayo players for a while. I remember at some stage we would drive through Gweru and pick up a young Gibson Homela and William Sibanda to bolster the side. There was talent of the highest order in those days churned out by the youth clubs.
“We became stars because we played football every other time until we became better footballers. We played because we loved the game and money was not the attraction. It was an honour to represent Bulawayo and our families and we would give it our all against other select teams from Gweru, Hwange, Harare and Mutare,” said Dlamini.
Dlamini said after labouring in Bafa with the boys he was happy to see the club take its place in national football in 1968 before getting promoted after winning the 1970 Division Two title.
“The boys who had joined us from school had matured under our guidance with Sibanda (Mackenzie) and Edward Dzowa.
They deserved their place among the best in the land and their promotion was due reward for all our perseverance and hard work between 1963 and 1964,” said Dlamini.
Dlamini retired in 1969 at the age of 29. He said there were things that he did not like at the club and that also his short fuse was among the reasons while he called time on a good career.
He said watching some of the boys he had played with grow from “nearly men” after being demoted in 1971 from the national league to winning the Chibuku Trophy and regional league title was a moment to savour. He praised Silas Ndlovu from bringing in new training methods and an administrative structure that is still the envy of many to this day.
“Under that boy, things changed at Highlanders. He was clever and intelligent from our school days. He brought new training ideas and management that was accountable with an annual general meeting every year which we still have to today. Under him Highlanders won our first major tournament the 1973 Chibuku Trophy title and since then we have been a team to follow in all respects. Highlanders have won everything on the calendar and produced the nation’s best players at all levels.
The junior programme which started in the 1960s is still one of the best churning out great players but there is need to focus on local boys who understand the Bulawayo football culture in the first team.”
He said in his days Dynamos, Mashonaland United, Rio Tinto, Arcadia, Rangers, Callies and Sables were formidable opposition.
The most difficult players he faced included Hwange’s legend Mwape Sakala, Mashonaland United (Saints’) Tito Murungu whom he described as one of the best dribblers he faced.
derick.khumalo