Ngezi appoint Chiragwi substantive coach

Sport
Takesure Chiragwi

NGEZI Platinum Stars have appointed Takesure Chiragwi as substantive coach, rewarding him for leading the club to a credible fourth-place finish in the just-ended Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season.

The former Shabanie Mine coach was appointed on an interim basis after taking over from Benjani Mwaruwari, who was fired at the end of July after a series of poor results.

He took over from the Warriors legend with the team struggling in the bottom half of the league table, but managed to turn Madamburo’s fortunes around in the last 12 games.

The club’s hierarchy has seen enough and was happy to give him the opportunity to challenge for the title next season.

“Ngezi Platinum Stars Football Club is pleased to inform all its stakeholders that the club has appointed Takesure Chiragwi as the substantive head coach,” the club announced in a statement yesterday.

The Mhondoro-based side did not give much detail about the contract, but a source told NewsDay Sport that Chiragwi had been given a two-year contract.

“Coach Chiragwi has been appointed following his excellent performance after being appointed interim coach wherein the team finished strongly, achieving its top-four finish objective for season 2022. In addition, the appointment of Chiragwi signifies the club’s commitment to develop technical skills internally and coach Chiragwi has steadily improved since joining the club in 2019.”

The club said Chiragwi would assemble his own team of assistants.

Chiragwi first arrived at Ngezi Platinum as an assistant to Rodwell Dhlakama in 2019, who left the club just three games into the season.

He then held fort until Mwaruwari arrived in March.

But the former Warriors striker would only last just three months before he was fired as the team was sliding towards the relegation zone.

Of the 12 matches he took charge of, Ngezi won seven, drew four and lost once. The team eventually finished with 55 points, just three points behind third-placed Dynamos.

Meanwhile, the club also announced yesterday that its founding president Stanley Segula had stepped down “with immediate effect”.

“The board is pleased to announce that Takawira Maswiswi, who until now was vice-president, takes over as the club president. Segula is stepping down, leaving the club in a healthy position to continue on its journey towards achieving its strategic objectives.

“Despite stepping down as president, Segula remains committed to Ngezi Platinum Stars FC as he begins his new role as the club’s first patron,” the club said.

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