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Fungai Muderere, Senior Sports Reporter

VETERAN Chicken Inn and former national team midfielder Clemence Matawu has hanged up his boots after efforts by coach Joey Antipas to convince him to continue playing came to naught.

Matawu (38) has enjoyed a good working relationship with Antipas, a bond that stems from their days at the now defunct Motor Action together with Prince Matore, the assistant coach at the Gamecocks.

“Matawu has decided to call it a day. He told me that he can’t continue playing. He is a dedicated player that has been in action for too long. I’m sure the whole country will miss him in the field of play,” said Antipas.

“I tried to convince him to carry on, but he insisted that he was done. For a fact he is not a youngster anymore. As such he has all my blessings and he will be in the Chicken Inn set-up.”

Last year, the midfielder graduated with a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Sport Science and Coaching to join a growing list of local footballers attaining academic qualifications.

As many marveled at his brilliance on the field of play, juggling between training sessions and studies, in 2017, Matawu wrote his own piece of history when he joined an exclusive club of the country’s finest players by finishing among the Soccer Stars of the Year finalists for a record breaking sixth time in the modern Premier Soccer League era.

Since his return from Poland in 2011, the soft spoken Matawu refused to be slowed down by age, scoring crucial goals for Chicken Inn and making it into the Soccer Stars list three times on the trot from 2015.

He had previously made it into the best 11 in 2003, 2004 and 2006 when he was crowned the king of Zimbabwe football, beating former Highlanders midfielder Honour Gombami for the top gong.