KENI Mubaiwa will go down in history as one of the most successful chairmen of Dynamos Football Club since 1963 when the club was formed.
By MICHAEL KARIATI
Four consecutive Castle Lager Premier Soccer League titles, two runners-up slots, on top of other knockout trophy honours over a period of seven years ought to be recognised as excellence in any sporting analysis.
During that period, Dynamos also gave birth to three Castle Soccer Stars of the Year Award winners in the form of Washington Arubi, Denver Mukamba and Tawanda Muparati in a period which can be described as one of the most successful in their history.
Mubaiwa will also be remembered for giving the chance to a coach called Kalisto Pasuwa, who, after years working as an assistant coach, won Dynamos four league titles and went on to become Zimbabwe national team coach.
However, staying in a political or sporting leadership position for too long has its own consequences and Mubaiwa now finds himself being blamed for destroying the team which has now sunk among the weakest in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League assembly.
It is saddening to see Dynamos so inept, so lacking in creativity and firepower and for that matter languishing in 10th position having picked up only nine points from a possible 27 points.
Who can blame the Dynamos followers for pointing their fingers at club president Mubaiwa for this drastic free fall following a combination of blunders that have characterised his reign since the day Pasuwa left the 1998 CAF Champions League finalists at the end of the 2014 soccer season?
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Mubaiwa’s management style has chased away talented players from the club, coaches have been reshuffled like a pack of cards, fans who have voiced their concern have been told to go to hell, while players, on the other hand, have gone for years without their signing-on fees being paid despite the thousands of dollars the club realises from gate entry fees.
The non-payment of signing-on fees — which is the duty of the club — has raised questions as to what is really happening to Dynamos’ gate entry fees since player salaries are being paid by NetOne while in the past it was the responsibility of Banc ABC.
Those who have questioned this like former vice-president Solomon Sanyamandwe and team manager Richard Chihoro have been forced out of the club without any explanation being given.
Sanyamandwe, for example, who is 44 years old, represents a new crop of emerging football leaders whose trademark is their relative youthfulness, energy and vision, but unfortunately is being sidelined in favour of the old order.
Mubaiwa, who also happens to be the PSL supremo, has also not taken his time to clear allegations that he has been using Dynamos for the benefit of his own private business.
Allegations have been flying around that he has been forcing players to take up used cars from his company as signing-on fees and then claim the vehicle sale price from Dynamos. It is alleged that players who refused to take up the deal were forced out of the club, hence the player exodus.
Although these are just allegations, the PSL boss should be bold enough to stand up and tell the football family as to which is which instead of keeping the nation in suspense.
Mubaiwa should also explain the reason for offering cars as signing-on fees when the club has money to pay the players what they are owed.
Mubaiwa should also explain why Pasuwa was allowed to leave and also why Tonderai Ndiraya’s contract was not renewed after his team finished second behind Chicken Inn in the league title race.
Mubaiwa should also explain why Cameroonian Christian Ntouba Epoupa was not paid his signing-on fees after waiting for the whole year when the team was realising thousands of dollars from gate entry fees.
Surely, Mubaiwa has done a lot for Dynamos, and should have not have waited for the demonstrations that are taking place to force him out. The Dynamos boss now stands to lose the respect he had earned should he leave unceremoniously instead of leaving on his own accord.
Dynamos is the biggest football team in this country and their poor performance has a negative impact on the other clubs in the premiership. When Dynamos play badly, crowd attendances go down, and so does the revenue of most of the clubs who get their biggest cheque of the season when they play DeMbare at home.
Dynamos need to recover quickly from their deep slumber and this can only come if they retain their old sound management, which should start with a clean-up of the current club leadership.
The majority of Dynamos followers want Mubaiwa to go and the PSL supremo should follow the wave and quit instead of waiting to be thrown out. That is the only way to maintain respect.
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