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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter 

ZIFA has written to the Sports and Recreation Commission requesting for the conferment of national hero status to the late Dynamos and national team football legend David ‘Yogi’ Mandigora.

Mandigora died on Saturday at the age of 64.

“Zifa has written to SRC requesting the Government to confer (national) hero status on the late football legend David Mandigora. Mandigora had a huge impact on the face of local football from the colonial days when the sport was used to challenge colonial rule. It was fitting that he was crowned the soccer star in 1980 when the country attained independence. Yogi equally became a success story as a coach, leading his boyhood club Dynamos to league glory in 2007 and the (Caf) Champions League semi-finals in 2008.”

“He also played for the national team on various occasions and put the country on the football map. Mandigora’s transition from a devoted player into a successful coach epitomises the life story of a true hero for many young footballers and the generality of Zimbabweans. David served the sporting fraternity and the nation at large with distinction and it is our humble request that he be bestowed with the greatest honour of being declared a national hero,” reads a Zifa statement from communications and competitions manager Xolisani Gwesela.

Mandigora would become the first sportsperson to be conferred with national hero status if the government consents to Zifa’s request.