The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
WHAT started off as a drive to get a school team into the mainstream football competition 20 years ago gave rise to a club that struggled along, producing stars that have gone on to represent the nation and feature in Africa’s top club football competition.
Siphambaniso Dube was teaching at Foundation College at the time and being passionate about soccer he found himself coaching the school team. To ensure wider opportunities for his players he sought to register with the National Association of School Heads with the aim of taking part in the Copa Coca-Cola competition as he felt they had a good squad with emerging starts that included the like of Sifiso Nketha and Gilbert Banda, among others.
However, their efforts were rebuffed with Nash saying they were not a Government school hence they could not be admitted to the entity.
“We turned the team into a social soccer club, played various games and later had the opportunity to play in the CBZ FA Cup and we played well that we got admiration from some football lovers. When Missing Link decided to abandon their franchise in Division Three, they gave it to us and that was the birth of Foundation College FC which later became Foundation Hotspurs and then Ajax Hotspurs,” said Dube.
He said as Ajax, which is in Division One, they are happy to pluck out players, give them a stage and then watch them blossom at other teams.
Dube recalled how they took Khumbulani Banda from Railstars after he was rejected as a 16-year-old due to his diminutive stature and he went on shine at the club as a striker before the left-footed player found his way back to Railstars and later turned out for Dynamos, Highlanders and South Africa’s Maritzburg United.
The club has gone on to produce stars that have featured in the Caf Champions League Divine Lunga who featured in the competition with Chicken Inn and is now with South African side, Lamontville Golden Arrows, Chrispen Machisi (Caps United) and Peter Muduhwa (Simba Sports Club, Tanzania), Khumbulani Banda (with Dynamos) while Denzel Khumalo is part of FC Platinum.
Dube said he prides himself that many of Ajax’s products are making a name for themselves with Premier League and Division One teams among others Gift Gumpo and Corey Eli Black at Bulawayo Chiefs, Mbongeni Lindelwe Ndlovu and Reward Muza who are with Highlanders, Clement Veremu (Zesa Hwange) and Kelly Shiyandindi (Hwange FC).
Hillary Madzivanyika was their first export, moving Botswana’s Orapa in 2004 the player also moved to Botswana Meat Commission and returned to turn out for Bosso. Dube said staying afloat has not been easy as teams folded due to the tough economic situation.
“It’s a real struggle, the income is little and it’s made worse by the fact that payment of development fees and solidarity payments is not honoured by local clubs. It’s an issue I have talked about and will keep on talking about, this is the only way clubs like ours can survive. We invest in these juniors but when they make big moves we are not compensated.
“We can’t pretend to be fulfilling all the statutes of the game but ignore others because they involve payment of funds. We have had to live ‘hand to mouth’ to keep the team afloat,” he said, adding that along the way they have had to survive at the benevolence of some benefactors that include Nodumo Nyathi (payment of affiliation fees), Tumediso Drogba Mokoena (referees fees), Pro Motor Spares and Message Ncube of Foundation, who nursed the project when it was at its infancy.
Dube revealed they are planning huge celebrations before the year ends to celebrate two decades in football.
