Hard as it may be, a dear friend, brother, father and husband, Benjie is no more. The late Benjamin Moyo, coach of Mimosa Platinum was a holder of a UEFA Coaching Licence. Benjie, as we all knew him, brother to Benedict Moyo, was a passionate and philosophical coach. He was a late football bloomer and did not play much football at the top. He however donned the Highlanders reserve side jersey several times and attained his coaching badges as age caught up with him.
Benjie started his coaching by attending classes in 1994 at Raylton Recreation Club in Bulawayo Zimbabwe. I was privileged to have been in class with him together with other great coaches like Pernel McKop, Bongani Mafu, Charles Mhlauri, Willard Khumalo, Jairos Tapela, Morgan Dube and the late Tito Asani, to name but a few.
He went on to coach Highlanders and Aamzulu of Zimbabwe before travelling to Swaziland. Swazi football did not meet his quality standards and he left for overseas where he was until the recent appointment by the rich platinum mining team for the 2011 Castle Premier League season.
Moyo always had ideas to take the game to another level and sometimes misunderstood for his love for doing things right. He was one man who knew that the short-cut was not always short. He never accepted mediocrity and wanted the best for his players all the time. To some of us, he was always like a childhood friend, having graduated from the same football coaching kindergarten upto tertial levels of the game. It was never imaginable to have a course where the group was not complete.
It was going to be a matter of time before Moyo would win the championship and head the Zimbabwe Warriors. There is no doubt that he was destined for great things as his current employers seemed to be providing the exact platform he thrived on. His football intelligence can not be rivalled as many who worked with him can testify. Just from Facebook messages, you can see how much of a huge impact in people's lives he was.
Sadly, he will never realise his ambitious dream of conquering Africa and the world. His qualification in coaching proves how much he was prepared to work for the game. He will be missed by those who knew him and the lives he touched. Football is poorer without him and may his soul rest in peace.
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