Zimbabwe football cheating scandal exposed

Zimbabwe football cheating scandal exposed

By Oswald Sibanda
Sports Editor

NEW Zimbabwe.com today takes you into the heart of the biggest scandal in the history of Zimbabwean football, revealing how some of our best players have altered their ages and duped a whole nation with false names.

Driven by a desire to present a young face and appeal to European clubs, or simply fit into the junior teams, players have assumed identities of relatives including their SISTERS, we can reveal.

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Our Sports Editor Oswald Sibanda (former Highlanders juniors and later, Wankie) lived and played alongside some of these cheats, and today he puts his friendship with some of our stars on the line to expose the greatest football scandal of our time.

Football authorities have ignored this scourge for a long time, and our Sports Editor blames this for our national teams’ pathetic and feeble challenge for football honours on the continent.

“We are a nation of cheats,” he writes today. “I have evidence that the Premier Soccer League is aware of this, and some of our top coaches have tacitly approved or even assisted the cheats.”

“Did you know, for instance, that AmaZulu and former national team star midfielder Master Masiku is in fact Thomas Masiku? Master is his young brother who now goes by the name Mtewa Masiku. Does name sound familiar? Of course, it should, Mtewa plays for Premiership club Railstars.

The Masikus’ case illustrates how our game has been corrupted to the core. We are all jointly and severally responsible for allowing cheats to represent us at all levels of our football because the authorities know it is happening but no-one dares talk about it.

Take the case of former Highlanders goalkeeper Pope Moyo, who also represented the national Under 20 team. His real name is Sijabuliso Moyo, and Pope is his young SISTER.

This might sound funny but it’s real. I remember an incident when I was playing for Highlanders juniors when legendary junior coach Ali ‘Baba’ Dube was asked about ‘Pope’ and the fact he was over the 17 years age limit.

Dube just turned and said to ‘Pope’: ‘Don’t you have a sister?’ and ‘Pope’ muttered something inaudible. Dube then said to him: ‘Kuyafanana angithi ngowangakini (It makes no difference, she is your sister).’ And so he became Pope!

I still find this incident funny today, but it shouldn’t be. This was football being corrupted in front of my eyes -- a young footballer past his age being made to adopt a new name and a new image, effectively taking the place of those that qualify for that position.

When Wieslaw Grabowski was confronted about some dodgy birth certificates for his Darryn T players in 1996, Stewart Murisa and Alois Bunjira to be precise, he arrogantly retorted: ‘Do I look like a parent to these boys?’

That’s the arrogance or ‘I don’t wanna know’ attitude that has met allegations of cheating in our football. No-one wants to be responsible. Our football administrators prefer to sit in lush offices, plotting who to squabble with next when the game is being raped and maimed in front of our eyes.

Take the case of my former team-mate at Wankie, Richard Nyathi. He played an entire season under the name Hasmon Banda. The matter DID reach the PSL and as an investigation intensified, he reverted to his name. The matter died a natural death – just like that! Yes, ONLY IN ZIMBABWE.

Have you tried to imagine what would happen if, for instance, England goalkeeper David James just decided to change his name to Wilfred Jones, and his age drastically reduced just before a youth tournament?

Of course it’s unimaginable. But in Zimbabwe, it’s commonplace. Step forward Zimbabwe Saints goalkeeper Reuben Chandata. He represented Zimbabwe’s Under 17 national team using the name Pressmore Moyo.

The scandal of this whole episode is that both the Premier Soccer League and the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) could have simply checked the original player records and confirmed this man was a cheat.

There are several other cases. Former Highlanders striker Noel Cele used his young brother’s identity. His real name was Roy.

We have the case of Highlanders striker Gift Lunga (jnr). Without taking away anything from this hugely talented young man, the truth is he changed his identity because his real name is Makheyi Lungu. Sundowns’ Kelvin Maseko is Mandla Maseko, Caps United’s Melusi Ndebele is Phephisani Ndebele and Highlanders’ Melusi Sibanda is Shepherd Sibanda. The list is endless.

All the players listed above, save for Melusi Sibanda, played in the Under 17, Under 20 and Under 23 national teams on fake identities. If the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had obtained this information Zimbabwe would have been BANNED.

Ever wondered why our players stop playing football at the age of 25 or 27? The answer is simple; they will already be 33 or 36 years old. Ever wondered why our players haven’t stayed in the game as long as Arsenal’s Martin Keown or former England number one keeper David Seaman? Now, stop wondering.

It pains me to say it, but I admit that WE ARE A NATION OF CHEATS. Our junior teams have travelled the continent using fake documents and adopted names. It’s even more scandalous that our top coaches and football administrators have tacitly approved or even assisted the cheats.

We approached Zifa for comment, and a spokesman said they had no evidence of cheating, adding that they would investigate if specific leads were given.”

Our dossier is now available to Zifa, the PSL and Caf
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ozzie@newzimbabwe.com