daniel chigunwe
Langton Nyakwenda
Zimpapers Sports Hub
TWENTY-SIX years ago, this time, Dynamos were still basking in glory after becoming the first Zimbabwean club to reach the CAF Champions League final.
DeMbare lost 4-2 on aggregate against Côte d’Ivoire giants ASEC Mimosas in a two-legged final.
The first encounter ended 0-0 at the National Sports Stadium on November 28, 1998, before Dynamos crumbled in the return fixture at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan on December 12.
Makwinji Soma-Phiri scored DeMbare’s first goal in that final, with Ghanaian George Owusu chipping in with the second.
Their goals were, however, not enough to help DeMbare lift the trophy, but there is no doubting that the class of 1998 had etched their names in Zimbabwean football folklore.
Soma-Phiri remains the only Zimbabwean to score in a CAF Champions League final.
It is a special record that he has kept for the past 26 years, as no other Zimbabwean club has reached the final since 1998.
Soma-Phiri is now aiming to break another record.
He wants to be the first ex-professional footballer to lead the Zimbabwe Football Association.
None of the previous ZIFA presidents played the game at a professional level.
Soma-Phiri is also the only ex-professional footballer on the cast of candidates vying for the ZIFA presidency on January 25, which includes Twine Phiri, Nqobile Magwizi, Martin Kweza, Philemon Machana, and Marshall Gore.
“Doctors’ associations are run by doctors, lawyers run their own organisations, politicians run their politics, and so do musicians.
“But in football we allow non-football people to run our football.
“We should be running our own football,” claimed Soma-Phiri.
“We need to reclaim our football and make it the family game it used to be back then.
“Remember back in the day when fans would pack the National Sports, but now there seems to be little interest in football?
“We need to correct that. We need to transform our game so that fans can come back.
“We need unity; this is not about Makwinji winning; it’s about the good of the game. Everyone has to play a role; we have to fix this game together.”
Soma-Phiri has been running businesses in Harare, and he now wants to join mainstream football administration.
Just four years ago, Soma-Phiri hinted at taking a crack at administration when expressing concern over the problems at Dynamos. He also felt Dynamos had not reached the levels he expected.
“Scoring in that final was a huge achievement, and it’s unbelievable, 22 years later, no team from Zimbabwe has reached the final.
“Sadly, football in general has gone down instead of up.”
He was saddened by the fact that Dynamos had failed to transform into a continental powerhouse.
“Dynamos are not even close to what they can achieve,” he said.
Four years later, Soma-Phiri still has the same sentiments.
“Imagine since 1998 no Zimbabwean team has reached the CAF Champions League final.
“As a country, we should have built on that achievement, but sadly people have watched as the situation deteriorated.
“Our maiden appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations finals was back in 2004, but more than 20 years later we are yet to progress beyond the group stages.
“It’s like our football has remained stuck in a pit.
“Now is the time to restart everything, from grassroots development to the empowerment of the girl child.
“Every team should have women’s teams right from the junior level,” said Soma-Phiri.
He starred for Dynamos in a squad that was led by skipper Memory Mucherahowa and included Gift “Umbro” Muzadzi, Ernest Chirambadare, Masimba Dinyero, Kalisto Pasuwa, and a youthful Desmond “Gazza” Maringwa.
Soma-Phiri established himself at Highlanders before joining Dynamos in 1994.
He also played in South Africa for SuperSport United and Hellenic between 2000 and 2006.
Phiri’s vision includes the improvement of player welfare, development of grassroots football, mordenisation of training facilities, re-ignition of Zimbabwe’s football spirit, and expansion of opportunities for international football contracts for local players.
Online Reporter
