BY MICHAEL KARIATI
ZIMBABWE football has been thrown into mourning once again following the death of another football administrator and former Dynamos chairman Phillip Mugadza.
A football administrator, businessman and top music promoter, Mugadza, passed on in Harare yesterday morning.
Mugadza’s death comes barely a day after former Premier Soccer League chief executive Chris Sambo, who succumbed to Covid-19, was laid to rest at Greendale cemetery on Friday.
Even more saddening is the fact that Mugadza’s departure comes only a few months after the death of his brother, the US-based passionate Dynamos fan Freddy, who was affectionately known as Freddy Pasuwa.
It was not immediately clear what led to Phillip’s death with his brother Godfrey revealing that the family was still awaiting the postmortem results.
“Yes, it’s true he passed away at his Gunhill home in Harare this morning. It’s a big blow for the family, remember we are still mourning the death of Freddy, so it’s a very difficult time for the family,” he said.
The Harare businessman, known in football circles as “Banket” because of the farm he owned in Banket, Mashonaland West, rose to football fame in 1999 when he emerged onto the scene as part of the Dynamos executive.
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Mugadza was part of a team that comprised chairman Rafik Adam, his vice Simon Makaza, secretary Raymond Majongwe, treasurer Godfrey Japajapa, Victor Nyaumwe, Ignatius Pamire and Dominic Kambeu.
The committee took Dynamos to the 2000 Vodacom Challenge in South Africa where Dynamos engaged Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Africa Sports of the Ivory Coast, where upon returning Dynamos introduced a new dressing style for the 1998 CAF Champions League finalists.
Those were the days when both the Dynamos leadership and their players were a good sight so see in their blue suits, which were matched with a blue and silver coloured tie.
“Mugadza always emphasised on fashion. He suggested that we and the players put on the same type of dressing wherever we were and we agreed. That is how we became known through our suits,” said Makaza.
From then, Mugadza became a member of the Dynamos football leadership and briefly held the position of club chairman in 2005 as the leadership of the club changed hands in a crisis that still remains unresolved.
Mugadza held various positions in Zimbabwean football but of late had restricted himself to being a follower of Zimbabwe’s most popular sport team — the Warriors.
Apart from his role in football and in particular at Dynamos, Mugadza also popularised rhumba music in Zimbabwe as a promoter, bringing foreign artistes such as Kofi Olomide, Aurlus Mabele, Sakis, Yondo Sister and Pepe Kalle, among many others, to perform before huge crowds in Zimbabwe in the late 1990s.
This has probably been one of the worst weeks in Zimbabwean football and the question is: Do we have administrators capable of taking over from the legacy that Sambo and Mugadza has left?
The country’s football governing body Zifa took to Twitter to mourn the death of the veteran football administrator.
“Zifa commiserates with the Mugadza and football family following the passing-on of former Dynamos FC chairman Phillip Mugadza. Mr Mugadza was an astute administrator who served the beautiful game with dedication and commitment. We are saddened by this great loss,” the association said.
