The Sunday News
Sports Reporter
NINE years after passing on, the legend that is Joshua Mhizha popularly known as ‘‘Shezha’’ must have been smiling down on Desert Stadium in Njube! After all, scores of lads as young as eight years old have made this dusty bowl their second home.
Mhizha, who died in August of 2009, is a legend of the local game! He cut his teeth at Zimbabwe Saints as a junior and Red Seal Rovers before moving on to State House Tornadoes, Dynamos and then ending his career where it all started: Saints. It is Mhizha’s blueprint, an unerring need to preserve his legacy and an uncompromising passion for football development that Nhlanhla Mpofu and Co have adopted for Njube United, a fledgling team established in 2018 and somewhat of a phoenix formed out of the ashes of the original Njube United, a development side of the 70s then run by Sister Gumbo father of the respected football quartet of Charles, Rahman, Norman and Nkosana.
For the longest time, the stadium often just referred to as ‘‘Desert’’ has been home to all things football in Njube. Decades upon decades of football pedigree have been produced at this hallowed stadium. Clubs such as Bulawayo Wanderers, Eagles, Njube Sundowns, Boyz Without and today, Chicken Inn’s development side and juniors have all called this stadium “home” and gone on to give to the world exciting talent.
In the early years, the locally famous Desert Stadium has produced gifted players like Ernest ‘‘Maphepha’’ Sibanda, Clement Mpofu and the late legendary former Rhodesia goalkeeper, John ‘‘Kimba’’ Walker to name but a few!
In later years, this same Desert was home to talent that includes such as Mhizha himself, the Gumbo brothers, Joseph ‘‘Skippy’’ Ngwenya, Danisa Phiri, Goodson Gama, Arum Tshuma, Likile Sithole, Zenzo Ndebele, Tendai Ndlovu among many, many more across the six or so decades that the stadium has been in use.
Today’s Desert is the breeding ground for today’s Njube United which is a reincarnation of the original side and is focused on talent identification and development. The project is the initiative of Mhizha’s protege in business and football administration, Nhlanhla Mpofu the club’s chief executive and secretary-general and former AmaZulu skipper and Gama the founding technical director before moving to Biya and Friends. The pair founded the side alongside Villah Xolani Sibanda (chairman), Ezweni Maphosa (vice-chairman) and committe members Brian Moyo and Tinky Manyowa.
Mpofu has been at the forefront of the drive to establish a local and indigenous development side in the suburb which was his mentor’s lifelong dream.
“I worked with Bra Josh for the longest time in both business and football. And during that time he taught me a lot about football both technically and administratively,” the Njube Utd chief executive told Sunday News.
“It was always Shezha’s dream to establish a purely developmental side in Njube and I decided to honour his legacy and his love for the game through our work Njube United,” Mpofu said.
Njube United has four sides all of different age groups: Under-13, Under-15, Under-17 and a senior side that plays in the Zifa Bulawayo Province Division Three league. However, the club’s recruitment policy allows them to start working with lads as young as Under-8 and Under-10. The club junior teams play in Bulawayo Province’s Serie B junior league.
In its first season, the club had 30 players and 60 the following season. Ahead of the 2020 season, which is its third, Njube United envisage having up to 120 players within their ranks with the technical team headed by technical director, Chipo “Senior” Mhlanga already prepared for the upcoming season.
“Our numbers keep improving every year and this year we expect to have about 20 players in each of our six teams having introduced Under-8 and Under-10 age groups to our development programme. Our technical department headed by Chipo ‘‘Senior’’ Mhlanga and including John Mabayisa, Kofi Chizunza and Njabulo Pilime the team medic is up for the challenge and has already begun prepping for its duties just as soon as the lockdown period is over.
“Our vision is to not just develop pro players or be known as a productive youth side out of Njube but a place where these young players get to learn about living life outside of or away from football as well as managing their earnings regardless of how modest they may appear to be,” Mpofu explained.
