‘TO CHALLENGE SECURITY FORCES’ DOMINANCE, LET’S GO PROFESSIONAL’

Never has an interview in this Chairman’s Chair Column spark as much debate, received feedback and caused consternation and elicited joy in equal measure as Mpumelelo ‘Flamingo’ Gamedze’s tell-it-all chit-chat last week Friday.

Even the deaf heard and the blind saw. He is back again, for the second part, and again he minces no words and leaves no stone unturned. Enjoy your reading...

 TIMES: Maybe we need to start here. Some of the people who were part of Sihlangu say you are being economical with the truth on this issue last Friday. They say you were actually warned about using your SA passport together with Yuki Masina because COSAFA uses stamped passport as playing cards in the tournament. They say you would have been declared a defaulter and it’s not muti issues as you claim?

FLAMINGO GAMEDZE (FG): You can ask all those who were there, the likes of Linoh Magagula or Sipho Dube they will tell you the same thing. They will tell you the truth. My passport was not the issue; it was the muti ritual that I refused to undergo which was the problem. Nakhona ngule-issue yekugata that was a problem, the rest I had no problem with.

TIMES: After you declined to use muti, what happened afterwards?

FG: What followed there I was called names…nginele kudlala ku-Wits ngiyatitjela, sengitibona ngincono kunalabanye badlali. Even at training, I was then sidelined. When we arrived in Zimbabwe, I was summoned by Kenneth Makhanya and the manager Timothy Ginindza to their room and instructed that because I refused to do those rituals I won’t form part of the team and when the media asks me I should mention my passport issue. I took their instructions. There were lot of versions of the story which were published in the media and I just kept quiet until this day. I had to go home sit down with my parents and relay the whole saga to them and mind you, I was supposed to go for trials in England and that opportunity was lost. One day, I’m coming from training and my mom calls me angry she said to me.. ‘‘I was in a taxi going home from Malkerns, these two boys seated behind me were reading the story and I didn’t like the comments they were making,” She said ‘‘I think it’s time to come out clean on this thing’’. So yes, when it starts affecting my parents it becomes an issue…it becomes personal. So basically that’s the whole truth and nothing else.

TIMES: What’s your view on the security forces team’s saga that has been simmering for years as one of the reasons our football is not progressing?

FG: Dlamini, personally I remember I was recruited when I was still at school but because I had a dream, I followed my dream, instead I recommended the late Eric Zikalala to one of the forces team. But looking at the economic issues at home you can’t blame anyone especially the players, because football is a short career so players focus on securing their future by accepting these job offers. To change all that, the league needs to go professional where players can get good salaries better than the security forces so that playing for the security forces teams is not the first options. Let me tell you this story, I believe it was around 2008, I was still based in Nelspruit. I won’t mention the name but a very good friend of mine and he is also Liswati with a passion for the game. We drove to SuperSport offices in Randburg wanted to find out how they can support other small African countries because in Eswatini more than 80 per cent of the people in the country have DStv decoders. We took that initiative because we could see that slowly but surely our national pride is missing a well-run professional league. SuperSport was willing to fund the league with about E18 million, which back then was a lot of money, as we progressed we were told about the politics of the country like having to give a certain percentage to someone…. then for me it didn’t make sense, I pulled out. But we had planned on engaging the FA to make sure that every premier league team in Eswatini had a soccer field. We had even decided that the teams will have to go to a chiefdom close to their area to ask for a piece of land; build a training facility that had a clubhouse, dressing rooms etc,  and then get a grant of E600 000 each and also build a high-performance centre. We knew the challenges faced by the teams at home. Can you imagine a premier league team having to share a training field? We were positive that with that approach we would be far by now as a country in football. Look at Ethiopian and Tanzanian football to name a few of the countries where SuperSport TV broadcasting deals had an immediate impact. So, there are lot of factors that have collectively killed our football.

TIMES: Will you still pursue your coaching career? Are you willing to come back and coach here in Eswatini?

FG: Ohh.... Yes I am still a coach and yes, I would want to pursue my coaching career even getting my coaching badges. This CAF coaching licence suspension was a big blow for me because I had done phase 1 of the course, but we were told we would be notified to come back and finish but we are still waiting to hear from SAFA, I even got Bizzah Mkhonta’s number. I spoke to him about it. I even went as far as approaching Mozambique since their former national team coach Joao Chissano, the former president’s son, was my teammate at Wits. I’m one of the luckiest players Dlamini ngoba when I look back to all the players I’ve played with at Wits, I pat myself in the back because half of that team are now coaches such as Roger De Sa, Eric Tinkler, Steve Barker, Dan Malesela, Tebogo Moloi, Augustine Makalakalane, Ashley Makhanya, Bradley Carnell, Oscar Mohohlo, Sipho Sikhonde, Charles Yohane the list is endless. So you can see from this list that I was bound to be a coach, Nkhosi....

TIMES: What coaching badges do you have now?

FG: I remembered one advice that I got from the Late Wits former coach Eddie Lewis. He once said to me: EXPERIENCE IS NOT ABOUT HOW OLD YOU ARE, ITS ABOUT WHAT YOU LEARN EACH AND EVERYDAY. That advice stuck to this day.  I still believe the sooner I acquire or finish the CAF B Phase 2 course, I would appreciate an opportunity to come back and showcase my coaching talent especially at the development squads even as an assistant coach, I wouldn’t mind at all because I believe in my experience in the game, I can definitely add value. I’m still trying to fix the logistics to come watch the National Under-20 COSAFA with an aim of what can I do to assist in any capacity during the tournament.

TIMES: Your stay at Mhlambanyatsi Rovers?

FG: Let me try to be brief on how I joined Rovers. My school, St. Christopher’s High School was playing at Bhunya Sports Ground I can’t recall who we were playing but that day a man that would change my life for good was watching the match. I was completely unaware. After the match this man who was also a player for Mhlambanyatsi Rovers came to me asked for my name, age, where I lived and told me next week there would be trials at Bhunya stadium and I must attend. Like I mentioned earlier I was very ambitious and believed in my abilities at that young age (15). He introduced himself as Gcina ‘Magiyane’ Dlamini. I could write a book about this man who became a brother and a father all in one. He played a big role in my football career. I owe him a lot. May his soul rest in peace. On the trial day, I showed up without even having soccer boots, ‘Magiyane’ gave me his soccer boots size eight while I was wearing size six at the time. I passed my trials on that day and I was then invited to start training with the team and I went back to ‘Skwaya’ to tell him, he gave me his blessings and my clearance. I enjoyed my time at Rovers.  I signed as a 15 year old, grew up there, learned that hard work pays.

TIMES: Who was there ku-Bafana Bemchwasho?

FG: Yooohh....We had a cream of players, namely, Inyakanyaka Coaster Dlamini, S’gidi gidi, Moses Kabuta, Indova ndova Madoda, Killer, Mphatsi with good advice to youngsters, Gadnery May, Dumboy, Meje, Galuja shiya amampondo what a player with an amazing soccer brain. Mafiswana, Phangza, Abraham, The Horse, Fash, the list is endless. I think that’s where I started realising that if I could put more effort and make some sacrifices, I would make it. I would be making one of the biggest mistakes not mentioning Fash Dlamini’s family as a whole they also played a big role, Babe Morris Simelane infact I owe him my life because now I am doing the very same thing he did for me as a youngster. He had no right to use his family or children’s money to run the team, giving me a platform to showcase my talent at Mhlambanyatsi Rovers, but now I truly understand the sacrifices he went through. He will always be in my heart. The team also qualified for CAF for the first time in history in 1996. I have stories and memories that will stay with me forever. Remember I was only 15 and I ended up being given the name TEASPOON. Manfred Chabinga was the coach who gave me my debut during the Trade Fair Cup against Manzini Wanderers, the team I grew up supporting. It was a dream come true.

TIMES: How was Manfred Chabinga as a coach?

FG:  I can I tell you, even today there are drills that I use that I learnt from him. The turns....ohh my god he taught us more. The shifting or shuttling…. I will forever be indebted to him. Another highlight for me was that the coach who used to coach me at Chappies level played for Bhunya Black Aces and now we were opponents…ohh what a story! If you set yourself goals and focus on them, anything is possible. I still miss those days because where there was Magiyane or S’gidi it was laughter all the way.

TIMES: Then you also joined Manzini Wanderers, how did it feel playing for one of the biggest teams in the country?

FG: Joining Liweseli was an honour and a dream come true for me and also playing with that group of players was an honour even the management led by the late Henry ‘Shushu’ Mtsetfwa, Chief Dlamini, Mphatsi Rhoo etc, we achieved a lot. My most memorable moments were winning everything in that year (2003) the league, Charity Cup and Trade Fair Cup if I am not mistaken. I had Stosh insimbi behind me, Doctor Nxumalo, Mrico ‘Riba Riba’ Nxumalo, Mbazo Gamedze, Street but I still believe there’s one other player that was very much underrated, I can tell you Botsotso was a good player…if he wanted to play Botsotso used to win us matches….so these are memories I will always cherish..as a Wanderers player. Mrico has a son, what a talent, watch the space that boy will make it professionally, you know as a person you gain so much experience that at a certain age, even at 12 years you can tell if he will be a football player or not. The supporters as well played a big role of 12th player in that year. We won the league, I scored a goal at Mhlume and that goal secured us the league I think I scored six goals that season.

TIMES: Who has had the biggest influence in your football career and why?

FG: I would say a couple of people played a big role in my career, I had a big brother Bhuti Kenneth who passed on in 1998 when I was starting to be a regular at Wits. He used to visit me when I was at Wits in my early days. I still believe if he didn’t pass on I could have played overseas easily. When I was still at Rovers he had a friend, who had contact in Italy with Juventus he tried to organise something but it failed. Most people don’t know that I went to several big teams in Europe for trials, teams such as Turkey’s Fenerbahce I was there for three months staying with John ‘Shoes’ Moshoeu when he was at Fenerbache, Augusto Palacios organised a trial for me at Moroka Swallows after impressing in less than 15 minutes, FC Twente in Netherlands, Apollo Limasol in Cyprus and one team in Greece. Another one who had a big influence is of course, Gcina ‘Magiyane’ Dlamini. The love, support and guidance he gave me was priceless. Of course my parents played their part as well. Rueben ‘Skwaya’ Gwebu also played a big role because in 1994, while playing for Under-17 in SA playing at Orlando Stadium, Jomo Sono also spoke to me. Others who had influence include, Derek Blanckensee, who is now at Orlando Pirates, and Eddie Lewis who gave me my first professional contract at the age of 17 while playing for the reserves and more so I was the only Under-19 player getting paid.

TIMES: Thanks for your time, ‘Flama’. Let’s do the last part next week

FG: It’s been my pleasure.....

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