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Midlands Correspondent
CROWDS thronged Torwood Stadium yesterday to bid farewell to one of Redcliff’s illustrious sons Paul Gundani during a funeral procession. The procession started at Nyaradzo Funeral Parlour where a brief church service was held followed by body viewing.

The procession then headed to Torwood Stadium and later to Baghdad Stadium. Scores of people lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the funeral procession, which stretched for more than a kilometre as Gundani made his final journey to the two stadia where he made his name.

Several speakers described Gundani as a humble person who had a passion for football.

Footballers’ Union of Zimbabwe (Fuz) president Desmond Maringwa said football had lost a leader who wanted to see the livelihoods of football players transformed for the better.

“As Fuz, we’ve lost a visionary whose contribution to the formation of the union was immense. Some of us, including him and Herbert Dick, were injured during our playing days which ended our careers and we got nothing out of it.

“We started Fuz so that players don’t face the same problems. We face so many challenges in dealing with the rights of players and some people wanted to bribe us, but Paul was incorruptible,” said Maringwa.

Former Ziscosteel player and secretary-general Jawadi Daudi said the club had lost a legend who brought fame to his hometown.

“As Ziscosteel FC, we’ve lost a legend whose contribution to the club was immense. Paul was disciplined as a player and stood for the rights of players when he was still at Ziscosteel. I’m happy he took that passion and became instrumental in the formation of Fuz,” said Daudi.

Former Ziscosteel players Ben Moyo, Godfrey Tamirepi and Solomon Kaseke were clad in Ziscosteel’s red jerseys.

The Whawha FC executive, technical team and players also visited the Gundani residence in Fitchlea to pay their respects.

Gundani will be laid to rest this morning at Msasa Cemetery in Kwekwe.