There were questions of the motive of inviting Mr Ndlela for education purposes given that he may not be in office within the first 30 days of the New Year, after the Annual General Elections. Mr Mbedzi brokered a partnership between Highlanders F.C and First Mobile Sports Academy forming a Highlanders Football Academy, a very good thing for Bosso junior policy. There were suspicions behind the motive and Mbedzi came forth to clear the air, addressing the Bosso Legends who had poised the question.
Thank you Legends for posing the direct questions to me as a Highlanders Supporter and as the said Director of the First Mobile Sports Academy. Our partnership involved me helping Highlanders junior teams regroup and rebrand, to a more secure youth policy of an academy with an aim to scout, develop and try and market the product beyond the Highlanders First team. The agreement was not between Ndlela and the FMSA but between Highlanders and the FMSA.
The initial stages
involved me training the coaches and players in transition and inviting two
players from Highlanders to be guest players in the international youth
tournaments which took place in SWEDEN and DENMARK (Gothia cup and DANA CUP) in
JULY 2011.The First Mobile Sports Academy offered and paid tickets for two
players Norman Zimba the Goalkeeper and Trevor NDLOVU whom I felt would make an
impact in EUROPE but I was disappointed that the said players withdrew at the
last minute because of lack of travelling documents which they first said they
had ready.
We extended the
invitation to 4 more players who failed to come because it was claimed they had
no accompanying adult. We also extended an invitation to CANADA and EUROPE to
the Chairman of the Board and the Chairman of the Executive with us paying for
one ticket and accommodation for the two men and with Highlanders paying only
for the ticket for the other.
You may ask why we
decided to invite them to these tournaments? We wanted to expand our contacts
and prepare Highlanders structures to be able to consolidate the new structures
by themselves when times come for them to stand on their own and even for them
to build direct contacts and links independent of the FMSA and yes, I know
Ndlela's term is expiring but he is not Highlanders nor an enemy of Highlanders.
So if he had a
mandate and duty to carry on until the end, who am I to come and dictate how
Highlanders are supposed to run their things. I asked for a delegation to
CANADA trying to link Bosso with the three major league soccer teams and taking
advantage of the invitation extended to the FMSA to this year 's third edition
of the Canada showcase who run the seminar and it’s not guaranteed that our
academy will be invited next year for me to wait for elections and it’s open
even to those who can buy they own tickets and get the visa.
The First Mobile
Sports Academy is a business company registered in CANADA and anytime the Bosso
family feel we are not helping them attain specific goals, they can just ask us
to move out of the agreement or partnership and the FMSA or me as the founder
won't regret it because it was not meant for mileage but to help the structures
of our team, only we chose to do it with monitored accountability.
Those who are into
soccer will realize that we did promise and fulfill promises of helping not
only to HIGHLANDERS but to the ZIFA Bulawayo province and we will continue to
help our junior teams until we get our youngsters back to national teams. Go to
ZIFA Bulawayo and enquire more about this and then ask me the same question
about wasting when I do stuff for junior players. And my answer will always be
there is NO waste with kids. The first time I came I saw the juniors playing
using kits with names like NGODZO, SIBANDA at the back and I promised to supply
them with uniforms and will still do that until they all wear uniforms with
their names and now the challenge is to see them with football boots and yes,
we will still try and source the boots with or without the current executive.
There is an
upcoming trip in JULY for the players to the Gothia cup and DANA CUP and there
is nothing to hide or politicise about it. It is very open, first to HIGHLANDERS
Academy players and then to Bulawayo Junior teams, provided they can pay their
own ticket and we will cover the accommodation and flights within Europe.
My question to you
Bosso Legends is, why didn't you ask me those direct questions when I was there
in Zimbabwe, noting that I was conducting all training sessions at the
HIGHLANERS Club House and watching matches there or even or the Barbourfileds
stadium where we had 5 Junior DVD games?
The Bosso Legends
appreciated the response as it was informative and enlightening. ‘We comprehend
the efforts and the love of the game that you have shown especially to our team
Highlanders. It is what the club needs right now. You also need to
understand our concern that the resources meant for the club should fully benefit
the club and moreso in the long term.
While you
rightfully say that First Mobile Sports Academy wanted to prepare Highlanders
structures to be able to consolidate itself when time to stand on its own
arrive, we felt it was a big risk for the club to invest in someone whose
future with the club was not certain. It has come as a blessing in disguise
that the trip has fallen through. We hope our questions did not offend you and
we hope the next persons coming into the office will receive the same support
you have given and vice versa.
Now let us get to
your questions why Bosso Legends did not ask you these issues during your visit
to Bulawayo-Zimbabwe. As you may know by now, we are a group of former
Highlanders F.C. players. We have members that have high coaching profiles in
terms of Zimbabwean and African standards. There is nothing that our members
would have loved more that meeting you and sharing ideas especially on junior
development, but being an affiliate of the mother body who happened to be your
host, we had to wait for an invitation from them. Let’s not get you into the
club's politics. We hope when you come next time we will get an invitation from
you.’
As a response, Mr.
Mbedzi put the record straight. ‘The truth is, I never took the Bosso Legends
as a separate organ or entity from Highlanders Football Club and will never
doubt the composition, abilities or fitting profiles of its members, but if a
name and role of a person is brought forward to engage or extend an invitation
whenever I visit or you visit then that won't be a problem to me.
I fully understand
as a person who grew up within the systems of the team the need for public
accountability. That is why I was a bit surprised to get questions and request
to halt an opportunity which I personally forced hoping to create the earliest
possible contacts for our team and the halting request was based on an
assumption that the current chairman was going to lose an election, which had
nothing to do with me.
The intention was
or is not to bring the Bosso Chairman but to be able to facilitate a visit by Highlanders
delegation to wherever my Academy is invited, and to see people thanking God
for the failure of an opportunity shows a serious problem within our team. Personally
it is embarrassing for me to take other teams’ players while we could be doing
this for ourselves. Highlanders is bigger than ACES academy but we must ask the
questions of our commitment.’
However, there
will always be concerns as raised by this point of view; ‘Thank God the trip
was a failure. Now let’s look foward to a more rewarding association with Mr
Mbedzi in uplifting our junior policy. Maybe
Ndlela could have leant a thing or two on the running of teams/clubs albeit at
junior level. Anyway, Mr Mbedzi, let’s not get you involved in that club
politics but we accept your extended hand.’
Should this make
Mr Mbedzi feel better? Judge yee!
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