Masomere rails against corruption in football
ONE of the Premier Soccer League (PSL)’s most experienced coaches, Luke “Vahombe” Masomere, is a worried man.
He believes the Premiership plagued by corruption.
His first PSL coaching gig was with Hwange in 1996, before he won his first and only league championship with the now-defunct AmaZulu in 2003, when he was only 35.
“Back then, the Premier Soccer League was competitive,” Masomere said.
“When I won the title in 2003 with AmaZulu, it was not easy for any team to win the championship when there was Highlanders, Dynamos and CAPS United.
“But nowadays, people can buy themselves success; there is too much corruption and alleged match manipulation.”
The nomadic Masomere, who has been in the dugout for over a quarter of a century, has coached a record 14 top-flight clubs and three teams in Botswana — Gaborone United, Nico United and Nontwane.
In the domestic league, he has been in charge of Hwange, Masvingo United, AmaZulu, Dynamos, Shabanie Mine, CAPS United, Sporting Lions, Mwana Africa, Motor Action, How Mine, Border Strikers, Buffaloes and Manica Diamonds.
Last year, he settled at ZPC Kariba.
“I am very nomadic, but very experienced as well,” said Masomere, before bursting into his trademark laughter.
He is now 55.
There have been a lot of changes in the PSL over the years.
After surviving relegation with ZPC Kariba last season, Masomere is enjoying the off-season in Mashava.
When The Sunday Mail Sport last week caught up with “Vahombe”, who has also spent 33 years in the top-flight league, both as a player and coach, the conversation unavoidably included the 2003 season, which is best remembered for its controversial twists and turns, as well as boardroom battles.
Dynamos were docked three points for the illegal use of striker Edmore Mufema, who was deemed a Motor Action player and was later suspended for four months and fined $400 000 at the time.
DeMbare ended up finishing third with 48 is points, three behind champions AmaZulu.
“Against all the odds, I worked very hard and won the league title. I was the youngest coach to win the PSL title by then, but I was a very aggressive coach.”
That AmaZulu had a mixture of hardworking and talented players, including Farai Mujokoro, Thomas Banda, Herbert Dick, Gift Zvavanhu, Vusa Nyoni, Mkhuphali Masuku and James Phiri, as well as top scorers Norman Komani and Sageby Sandaka.
Masomere was 35 when he claimed the league championship, but Methembe Ndlovu, who was 33 when he guided Highlanders to glory in 2006, holds the record of the youngest coach to win the PSL championship.
“A coach has to win something . . . you need to win cups and titles. You can coach for 15 years but people will ask you: What have you done, what have you achieved?”
Twenty years after his major success, Masomere is still in the trenches and searching for his second league championship.
He, however, reckons the terrain has drastically changed.
“I stopped playing football after a very bad injury against Black Rhinos at the Colliery in 1994. Two years later, I was appointed head coach at Wankie (now Hwange), and it was not easy to get opportunities simply because there was no nepotism, like what it is today, when it is about who you know, or if the chairman comes from your rural area.
“It was about football and results,” he said. “Back then, we had good players coming from Zambia and Malawi to play here. The likes of Derby Makinka, Ian Bakala, Joseph
Kamwendo and Webster Chikabala. “That made the local league competitive. “Clubs would also retain their key players . . . “But today, players are shifting bases every season. One gets the Golden Boot with a few goals for one season and the next minute one is gone to some obscure club in Mozambique or South Africa.
“Today, players move, not because they are good, but because they just want to eke out a living.”
Controversy and corruption
The firebrand gaffer is worried about allegations of corruption in the local game.
In recent years, there have been allegations that some club officials connive with match officials to fix results.
Match officials have subsequently come under fire from fans and coaches.
On May 1, 2023, soon after his side’s controversial loss to Herentals at the National Sports Stadium, FC Platinum coach Norman Mapeza threatened to quit football, as he questioned some of the officiating he witnessed from referee Lawrence Zimondi.
“Let’s be honest, we are going nowhere with our football. I would rather go and rest. Someone gets hacked two, three times in front of you and you leave it.
“With the way I love football, some of these things are going to force me to quit,” an angry Mapeza lashed out then. A fortnight later, assistant referee Edgar Rumeki sustained injuries after he was attacked by irate Dynamos fans following a controversial 0-0 draw with Herentals.
Referee Thabani Bamala waved away two penalty appeals from DeMbare and also made questionable decisions throughout the afternoon. In August 2022, The Chronicle reported that there were growing allegations that some referees, match commissioners and members of the ZIFA Referees Committee were conniving to manipulate results.
The PSL confirmed that a number of clubs had lodged written protests, which were forwarded to ZIFA.
The Chronicle report cited the game between Bulawayo City and Herentals, in which controversial referee Hardly Ndazi awarded The Students a late penalty on July 30, 2022. Another match officiated by Zimondi in Gweru between Whawha and CAPS United was also cited.
That match had a 10-minute stoppage as Whawha protested against Zimondi’s decision to deny them what they felt was a genuine goal.
There were some games that also raised eyebrows last season.
Yadah’s 6-0 thumping of ZPC Kariba in Week 30 and The Miracle Boys’ 2-1 win against Dynamos in the final week of the season raised some dust.
Black Rhinos also complained bitterly at some of the officiating at Bata Stadium in Gweru, which they still believe impacted negatively on their bid to survive relegation.
“Why do you employ a coach when you then go on and do corruption?” asked Masomere.
“How can I rate myself as a coach when there are allegations that results are being bought?
“We don’t want corruption in football . . .
“It’s high time clubs respect coaches. If you buy results, then you are not trusting your coach. Clubs should just respect coaches. “If I am not good, then fire me.” Despite the 6-0 thumping by Yadah, ZPC Kariba managed to survive relegation and Masomere is looking forward to better fortunes in 2024.
He has a strategy.
“ZPC Kariba will fight relegation from the first game.
“That way, we will move out of the drop zone early, unlike last season, when we were found in the relegation zone in the last weeks of the season.
“But the main thrust is to build a team that will compete for honours in 2025.
“We can’t compete for honours in 2024. “All the same, I want to thank ZPC Kariba’s fans and executive for rallying behind their team. Together we can make it.”
Masomere was also full of praise for his colleagues and feels they are underrated.
“By the way, do you know that Zimbabwean coaches are the best in Africa? Why?
“Because we thrive under difficult conditions.
“Imagine if we were to get opportunities to coach at clubs where the environment is conducive, clubs like those in North Africa.
“We are tasked to manage players who are hungry because clubs cannot afford to cater for them fully.
“But still, we keep things intact.
“It is what it is; we keep soldiering on.”