The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube Sports Correspondent
IN football there is a saying that: “One can change their political affiliation, their wife or their religious affiliation, but once you choose a football team it is forever.”
But one football supporter has defied that aphorism by turning his back on Harare giants Dynamos for bitter rivals Highlanders.
One may wonder why one would leave a club that has performed exceedingly so well on the local scene in recent years, a team that achieved a record feat by winning the championship four times on the trot, a side that boasts of bagging a number of cups along the way. And most importantly, DeMbare has virtually turned Bosso into their perpetual bridesmaids, getting the better of the Bulawayo giants in league matches over the past eight years.
Most football fans would laugh at him from jumping off a successful train and opting for a stuttering one, however, Skever Nadolo feels he had no option but to support Highlanders.
Does the surname ring any bells?
Yes, Skever Nadolo, is the father to Highlanders’ sensation 19-year-old Munyaradzi King Nadolo.
Although the young Nadolo dabbled with Dynamos junior teams during his formative years in football, he later found himself playing for their opposite number, Bosso.
King’s father, Nadolo said although it would have been a difficult decision for most fans to dump the team they support for their biggest rivals, he did not think twice about it as he had to offer all his support to his son.
Skever said he did not want to face the agony of seeing his favourite team beating the team played for by his son.
“I always give my kids the full support they need in whatever they do hence my decision to back Munya’s team. It is just the right thing to do,” he said.
On being asked if he will swap teams again if King changed teams, Skever appeared unsure, but was quick to say his wish was that his son would only play for Highlanders locally and then move to a team outside the country.
King started playing football during his primary school days at Circle Cement before moving to Tafara Rangers. On the advice of Elvis “Chuchu” Chiweshe, the boy enrolled with the Dynamos juniors. That was after he was granted a scholarship that saw the football giants paying his school fees at Churchill High School.
“I am an engineer and I used to work with Chiweshe in the same company and when I told him about my son, he urged me to take him to Dynamos and the team offered to pay his school fees, an offer I readily took.
“After staying with Dynamos for a few years, he was spotted by a scout while turning out for a Copa Coca Cola team in South Africa where they played as curtain raisers during a 2010 World Cup game and he landed a move to a team in that country,” said Skever.
He said although he would have loved King to complete his high school studies in Zimbabwe, the opportunity for the boy to further his football career was too great to miss and he ended up completing his schooling in the neighbouring country while turning out for FC Alex that was in the Vodacom League, South Africa’s third tier league.
After struggling to break into the top tier leagues in South Africa, King’s maternal uncle, Dr Victor Moyo, urged him to come for trials at Highlanders last year and the striker made the grade.
King said he was doing well at Bosso and hopes to establish himself this year after making several appearances last year and scoring several goals, although he is out with a knee injury and will miss the start of the season as the doctor has given him two to three weeks to fully recover. Skever, who used to play soccer at social level, said King was the only child to opt for a career in sport as his other two children have pursued other professions with first born, Leah working in South Africa while last born, Tawanda is studying accounts at the University of Zimbabwe.
Ironically King’s mother Linda is from Gwanda in Matabeleland South.
The older Nadolo said he was putting his money on Highlanders to win the league championship this year. Although writing off Dynamos, he expected them to give a good challenge and does not think ZPC Kariba will be able to replicate the success they experienced last year.
“How Mine, Caps and FC Platinum can also come into the fray but I want my son to lift the league championship with Bosso and will certainly be backing them,” said Skever.
