Zimpapers Logo

Lovemore Dube Senior Sports Editor
BULAWAYO coach Bongani Mafu is relieved that he has completed his Uefa B Licence in the United Kingdom after nine gruelling months and is seeking a new challenge back home.This makes him one of the best qualified coaches in the land.

He completed his studies last week and arrives in the country next Monday to go on a serious job hunt.

“I’m a football coach who lives, breathes, drinks, watches and reads football 24/7. I’ve just done the long and challenging Uefa B coaching licence, a course geared for the elite coaches in professional football.

“It’s a course that’s difficult to get into and challenging to complete as it stretches over nine months and you can’t miss a single day,” said Mafu.

Among some of his classmates was Michael Mickey Bell, a former Bristol City player who is the head coach of Weston Super-Mare, a club currently making waves in the FA Cup.

Mafu also attended a coaching licence in Hennef, Germany which was designed for international coaches.

Among those who have attended that licence have been Trott Moloto and Roy Barretto formerly with Highlanders and the Warriors.

“Almost all of us who did this course went back to our countries to run coach education programmes as football instructors. As secretary of Bulawayo Province soccer coaches association I was single handedly responsible for bringing the German mentor Horste Kriete here.

“Our executive led by Barry Daka revived the Coaches Association to what it is today,” said Mafu.

Mafu will always be happy with contributing to Bulawayo football having worked with the likes of  Benjani Mwaruwari at Surgimed, Thulani Ncube, Ronald Sibanda, Mthulisi Maphosa, Njabulo Ncube, Bhekimpilo Ncube and Njabulo Nyoni.

He was also coach of a number of boys who were at Christian Brothers College who managed to get scholarships to study and play abroad in the late 1990s and early years of the new millennium.

Mafu believes at 48 he is now a mature coach prepared to grapple with the challenges of Zimbabwean and Southern Africa football.

In the UK he has been head coach at Sherborne Town where he has won titles with the Under-16 and Under-18 teams. He has also been in charge of Gillingham seniors.

Back home Mafu has coached Zimbabwe Saints and had a stint with Gaborone United.

His best achievement still remains a second runner-up spot with Chikwata 13 years ago in the Zimbabwean Premiership.

“I’m a staunch believer in honing good young players and mixing them with reliable hardworking seniors to build a vibrant technically fast paced football team that’s great at defending and very accurate in attack.

“My teaching background makes me strong on discipline based on agreed goals and targets. One is very important to the WHOLE but there’s no single one bigger than the WHOLE,” said Mafu who has invested heavily in modern training equipment.

Mafu is eager to link Zimbabwean clubs with coaches in Europe some of whom have shown an interest in coming to Zimbabwe to help develop the game.