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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
FAILURE to emulate Mzilikazi High School’s feat of winning a record four COPA Coca-Cola titles between 1989 and 2001 by other Bulawayo schools hurts the school’s former headmaster Cuthbert Chiromo.

Nicknamed Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo by his former pupils after the late Brazilian legend, Chiromo is credited for helping blossom talented footballers at Mzilikazi under his watch where he was the headmaster between 1985 and 2002.

Under Chiromo, Mzilikazi established itself as the “school of football excellence” in the country, as it won a number of national tournaments, including four COPA Coca-Cola titles.

To date, Mzilikazi alongside Hippo Valley of Chiredzi and Harare’s Churchill remain the most successful schools to ever participate in the country’s annual premier schools’ soccer tournament, the COPA Coca-Cola with four titles each.

Mzilikazi won the inaugural COPA Coca-Cola tournament in 1989 and went on to win the 1993, 1999 and 2001 editions. Hippo Valley were 1990, 1991, 1996 and 1997 champions, while Churchill took the 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2008 titles.

With a week before the 29th edition of the COPA Coca-Cola national finals at Chipindura High School in Bindura from July 21-22, Chiromo, who is now headmaster of St Thomas Aquinas Primary School in Bulawayo, says his secret to success was sharing the love for the game with his players.

“Mzilikazi remains the only school from Bulawayo to have won the COPA Coca-Cola and to be honest it pains me that no school from Bulawayo has won this prestigious national tournament. The last time Bulawayo won the title was in 2001 when I was the headmaster at Mzilikazi.

“What was I doing to win those competitions is simple, I loved my kids and they felt the love and support I gave them. If you show interest in children, they cease to play for themselves and play for you. That way, they go on to win games and tournaments for you,” Chiromo said.

He said the football players from Mzilikazi had a strong bond and to ensure that they remained close, the players used to camp at his Pelandaba house ahead of tournaments.

Chiromo encouraged headmasters to identify and nurture talented athletes.

“When you’re a headmaster, you’re looking at kids with different talents. It is your responsibility to try and discover what makes a child tick. Obviously there is a world of academia where all parents want their children to be lawyers, doctors and so on, but not everyone is academically gifted. As a headmaster you have to balance things and look at other areas such as arts and sport.

“Mzilikazi is known for achievements in the sporting scene, particularly soccer. You talk of Peter Ndlovu, the late Adam Ndlovu, the late Benjamin Nkonjera, Yellowman (Esrom Nyandoro) and the Ngodzo brothers Johannes, Petros and Joel, just but to mention a few former footballers. They represented the school with pride and we were blessed that most of our athletes also played for local teams like Highlanders, AmaZulu and Zimbabwe Saints,” Chiromo said.

He challenged headmasters from Bulawayo to copy what their compatriots in other provinces are doing to win the national finals.

“For a school to be successful in sport, it needs to be led by people who are interested in sport. Headmasters should also support their sports masters and encourage them to get coaching certificates.

“There is also a need to work on the sports facilities so that even the kids feel the desire of playing on them. You will be surprised that there are some headmasters who don’t know the state of their sports facilities,” said Chiromo.

He also commended parents who support their children by buying them equipment as well as attending sporting events.

Chiromo wished Bulawayo’s representatives at next week’s COPA Coca-Cola national finals Lobengula the best.

“It is my hope that Lobengula will go to Bindura and bring the title home where it belongs. Hopefully they will be inspired by the fact that the last time a school from Bulawayo won the COPA Coca-Cola tournament (Mzilikazi), the national finals were in Bindura at Hermann Gmeiner,” Chiromo said.

Past COPA Coca-Cola boys winners

Four titles: Mzilikazi, Bulawayo (1989, 1993, 1999, 2001); Hippo Valley, Masvingo (1990, 1991, 1996, 1997); Churchill, Harare (1992, 1994, 2000, 2008)

Double titles: Lord Malvern, Harare (2002, 2003); Dewure, Masvingo (2010, 2015); Chemhanza, Mashonaland East (2013, 2014)

Single winners: Mashoko, Masvingo (1995); Mutare Boys, Manicaland (1998); Cranborne, Harare (2004); Mount Pleasant, Harare (2005); Chipadze, Mashonaland Central (2006); Pamushana, Masvingo (2007); Dzivarasekwa, Harare (2009); Manunure, Masvingo (2011); Mzingwane, Matabeleland South, (2012); Rujeko, Mashonaland Central (2016)

Participating teams at the COPA Coca-Cola 2017 edition

Oriel (Harare), Takwira (Manicaland), Kundayi (Mashonaland Central), Sabiwa (Matabeleland South), Lobengula (Bulawayo), Rusununguko (Mashonaland East), Tohwe (Matabeleland North), Pfupajena (Mashonaland West), Guinea Fowl (Midlands), Chipindura (Mashonaland Central, hosts), Rujeko (Mashonaland Central, defending champions) — @ZililoR