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From Robson Sharuko in HWANGE
METHOD Mwanjali says his future is a bit complicated right now and, in the event that he returns to play in Zimbabwe, it will be in the colours of Caps United as he has some unfinished business with the Green Machine.The vastly-experienced defender appears set to leave South African champions, Mamelodi Sundowns, next month — six months ahead of the expiry of his contract with the Brazilians — after four-and-half years at the club.

Mwanjali is not part of the plans of Sundowns’ coach Pitso Mosimane who loaned him out to Mpumalanga Black Aces last season before freezing him out of the champions in the first half of this season.

With six months left, on his Sundowns contract, it means that Mwanjali, who has spent the last four months training on his own in the gym, as part of a programme designed by the Brazilians, will be free to speak to any suitors who might be interested in his services.

Speculation has been rife that he is set to be loaned to Highlanders after Chronicle Sport, reported last week that a deal was being put together that will see Mwanjali and midfielder Kuda Mahachi moving to Bosso from the beginning of next month.

Yesterday Mwanjali told our sister paper The Herald that reports linking him with a move back to Zimbabwe, right now, were mere speculation and neither he nor his agents have discussed the possibility of him joining Highlanders from the beginning of next month.

The former Sundowns skipper said his heart will always be with Caps United and, having failed to deliver a league championship with the club during his stay with the Green Machine, always feel he owes the club a huge debt.

“I have read the reports saying that I could be moving to Bosso soon but I don’t know anything about that,” Mwanjali said.

“You know my issue about playing in Zimbabwe is a bit complicated because of that Asiagate ban and I don’t know what the authorities will say if, indeed, I am to come back and play here now since this issue isn’t resolved yet.

“But if I’m cleared to play at home then the team that I would love to play for is my old club Caps United because I feel that I have some unfinished business with them and I have always felt that they are my team.”

Mwanjali is one of a small clique of footballers who were banned for life by Zifa but, because his ban has not been endorsed by Fifa, he was free to play football in foreign leagues like the South African Premiership.

Sundowns threw all their support behind Mwanjali, when the bans were handed out three years ago, and promised him that they will back him.

“Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club have noted reports that the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) has imposed a life ban on central defender Method Mwanjali following the conclusion of their investigation into match-fixing allegations,” the Pretoria club said in a statement.

“The club has had discussions with the player and Mwanjali maintains that he is innocent and will exercise all the rights he is entitled to in terms of the rules.

“The player says he is being used as a scapegoat in the affairs of Zifa and strongly denied that he was ever involved in any match-fixing in his entire life.

“Mamelodi Sundowns will provide the player with all the necessary support in his bid to clear his name.”

Mwanjali was part of the Sundowns team that came to Zimbabwe on a pre-season tour last year and played in two games, against Highlanders and Caps United, despite his so-called life ban from football activities under the jurisdiction of Zifa.

The matches, interestingly, were sanctioned by Zifa and handled by local referees, who also fall under the jurisdiction of the national football governing body in this country, with Sundowns triumphing in both of them.

The Zimbabwe international footballer was one of the people who appealed against his ban, after he paid $6,000 for a review of his conviction and punishment but, two years after lodging his appeal, Zifa are yet to make a determination on his case.

Mwanjali said his status, in terms of being registered to play in Zimbabwe, was a bit hazy right now and that’s a hurdle that has to be cleared first before anyone starts linking him with a move back to the league where he started his career.

The veteran defender captained Caps United into third place, in the championship race, in 2009, his last full season at the Green Machine, and was also the skipper when the Warriors won the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup on home soil that same year.

The following year he was one of the players who left the Green Machine to join South African clubs, a cast that included the likes of Nyasha Mushekwi, Lionel Mtizwa, Tafadzwa Rusike and Oscar Machapa, and Mwanjali rose to become skipper at Mamelodi Sundowns.

However, the arrival of Mosimane turned his world upside down at the Brazilian as the former Bafana Bafana coach decided that the Zimbabwe international defender was not part of his plans.

Mushekwi has also struggled to win the approval of Mosimane and his future, right now, looks uncertain despite spending a season in Europe where he played in Belgium.

Mtizwa has already returned home and could be joining one of the clubs in the domestic Premiership, if his agents don’t get a club for him in South Africa, at the beginning of next season.