Chikanda bemoans lack of junior policy
DANIEL “DC” Chikanda, the first black man to wear the senior national team’s captain’s armband during the pre-Independence era, has bemoaned the lack of strong junior policy in local football.
Chikanda, who has been based in the UK for close to two decades now, returned home for vacation just after the Christmas holidays last year.
And he was shocked to learn that football in Zimbabwe was still in a state of decay and there are no signs of reviving it.
Speaking to Zimpapers Sports, Chikanda also said it came as no surprise to him to find the current state of football in Zimbabwe where it is now because there has been no deliberate policy to build or to upgrade the local stadiums.
“I’ve just arrived back home only to find out that local football is still on its death bed.
“I hear there’s no proper ZIFA executive committee in place but there’s a ZIFA Normalisation Committee which is being led by former Dynamos boss Lincoln Mutasa.
“The Normalisation Committee’s main task, I understand, is to bring sanity back into Zimbabwean football but I understand everything is being done at a snail’s pace, much to the disappointment of the game’s stakeholders across-the-board in Zimbabwe.
“I hear they appointed the technical teams to run the senior men’s team and the women’s side, turning a blind eye on the junior teams.
“Who are the junior national teams coaches — from the Under-12s up to the Under-23s?
“You can’t run your football without a proper and well run junior policy in place. We need a deliberate policy to prop up our junior development programme starting from the primary schools level right up to the Premier Soccer League,” Chikanda said.
He said the junior development programme must involve FUTSAL as most countries have adopted the game in their bid to come up with young, talented players.
“Most developed countries have vibrant FUTSAL leagues in place and it is helping in identifying young, talented who are knocking in the doors of most established clubs . . . that’s what we need in Zimbabwe.
“You can’t tell me talent is gone in Zimbabwe but I think most people have slept on duty and deliberately neglected the juniors.
“We must all pull our resources together and see to it that we revive our junior football in Zimbabwe,” Chikanda said.
He also said his heart bled when he saw the current state of the old home of Zimbabwean football — Gwanzura — in Harare’s high-density suburb of Highfield.
“I passed through Gwanzura today (on Tuesday) and I couldn’t believe what I saw . . . I couldn’t recognise it. It’s now in a dilapidated state and I just can’t believe that the local authorities left a famous stadium like Gwanzura to rot just like that.
“During our playing days in the 1970s, Gwanzura was the Mecca of local football. All the most talented and famous players during that era couldn’t wait to trot into Gwanzura after every other weekend . . . now it’s all gone. The Government must intervene and do something,” Chikanda said.
“I know our football has been hijacked by a number of people who have no interest in its development at all and are only there to milk some money from it . . . the sooner we get rid of these people the better.
“We can’t let our football die because of some selfish individuals who never kicked a ball in their lives or play some top-flight football at some stage.”
During his playing days in the 1970s Chikanda was a towering centre-back who played for Salisbury Sables, Chibuku Shumba and Black Aces.
Chikanda was famous for his booming free-kicks and was a nightmare for many goalkeepers.
DC was a high-powered central defender who was pillar of strength and seldom came out second best in aerial battles.
He also had an astute leadership style which resulted in him being Sables, Black Aces and national team skipper.
He was also arguably the deadliest free-kick executor ever seen on our local fields and could also score goals from set-pieces, especially with headers.
He is undoubtedly one of the best central defenders ever produced in the country. He also played for Kaiser Chiefs in South Africa before he returned home and was one of the founder members of Black Aces after Chibuku Shumba folded up towards the end of the 1976 season.
He briefly played for “Shaisa Mufaro” before he hung up his boots and turned his hand to coaching.
Chikanda coached Black Aces together with the late Jimmy “Daddy” Finch and Morrison Sifelani in the early 1980s.
The then Highfield-based club had a star-studded team that included the likes of Peter Manyara, David Muchineripi, Booker Muchenu, Bernard “Machipisa” Dzingai, Wonder Chisetera, Charles Gwazo, Byron Manuel, Alwyn Hagen and Fresh Chamarengah.
Full story on www.herald.co.zw