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The late Roy Mazingi

Lovemore Zigara in Gweru
A sombre atmosphere engulfed Mbizo 10 Cemetery in Kwekwe on Sunday as the football community bade farewell to Chapungu goalkeeper Roy Mazingi.

Mazingi passed on at the age of 31 on Wednesday night at Manyame Airbase Hospital in Harare after a short illness.

Among those that thronged the cemetery were Premier Soccer League chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele, Air Force of Zimbabwe officials, the Chapungu executive, technical department, players, former players, relatives and friends.

Ndebele described Mazingi as “a good servant of football” whose loss had robbed Chapungu of a talented goalkeeper.

“Indeed we have lost a good servant of football; a goalkeeper who has been playing in our league for many years. It is a sad loss to football as a whole and we hope that the surviving young players learnt a lot from Roy,” Ndebele said.

Thornhill Air Force base commander Air Commodore Elisha Masakadza said Mazingi was a disciplined player who left a void that would be difficult to fill in the Chapungu establishment.

“It is a sad loss to Chapungu FC as well as the Air Force of Zimbabwe. Roy was a disciplined person on and off the pitch and he was a dependable player whose void will be difficult to fill,” said Masakadza.

Born on March 27, 1986, Mazingi played in the lower division leagues soon after completing his secondary school education, joining Silo United in 2005 in the then Zifa Southern Region Division One league.

Silo United loaned Mazingi to Ziscosteel in 2007 before he was signed by Shabanie Mine in the Zifa Southern Region Division One league.

Mazingi spent six years at Shabanie Mine and left in 2014 to join Chapungu where he immediately took over the number jersey.

Mazingi is survived by a wife and two children.

@lavuzigara1