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Collin Matiza Sports Editor
FORMER ZIFA Midlands provincial chairman, Robert Mudzimu, has died. Mudzimu, who was diabetic, died in Kwekwe yesterday after a short illness. He was in his late 60s. According to family spokesperson Lydia Muchingami, Mudzimu fell ill on Tuesday before he was taken to Kwekwe General Hospital where he died yesterday afternoon. “In fact, he (Mudzimu) was in Harare at the weekend where he was attending some family business and he complained of high blood pressure. We then took him to a doctor in Ruwa where he was attended to and was later discharged.

“We then brought him to his home at Mbizo in Kwekwe on Sunday but his condition got worse on Tuesday and we took him to Kwekwe General Hospital where he, unfortunately, died at 1:45pm today (yesterday),” Muchingami said.

Mudzimu grew up in Mbare where he played street football with his late brother David before he joined the now-defunct Salisbury Sables in the Rhodesia National Football League in the 1970s. The RNFL later became ZIFA at the attainment of Independence in April 1980.

At Salisbury Sables, Mudzimu rubbed shoulders with fellow talented players such as the legendary Daniel “DC” Chikanda, Paul Tsumbe, Isaac Mafaro, Simon Supiya, Booker Muchenu, Cleopas Sibanda, William “Hwiriri” Sibanda, Peter “Thunderboots” Nyama, John Gallacher and Daniel Muyambo. Salisbury Sables won the league title in 1972 and 1974.

The team was sponsored by the then Rhodesia Breweries (now Delta Beverages) and most of these players were also employed by the same company at its Manchester Road plant in the Southerton area of Harare. Mudzimu later hung up his boots and relocated from Harare to Kwekwe where he turned his hand to coaching football and took charge of several clubs there including Kwekwe Chrome Stars and Kwekwe Sables.

He later got involved in football administration and was at one stage elected as the ZIFA Midlands provincial chairman. This saw him being appointed by ZIFA as the head of delegation of the national Under-20 team for the 2005 COSAFA tournament in Durban, South Africa.

He also travelled on a similar mission with Dynamos in 1998 on one of the Harare giants’ Champions League assignments. Mudzimu is survived by his wife Mercy and several children including two daughters Velma, who is named after his late sister Velma “the Big V”, and Grace; and son Tawanda. Mourners are gathered at No. 135 Section 9, Mbizo in Kwekwe.