Stanley “Samora” Chirambadare of Revival Academy boys opines that football in the country should be run by footballers, not just any administrator.
He was leading a group of young players through their paces at Mufakose High in Harare. Having played at top professional level at Dynamos as a defender, Chirambadare says his dream is to develop football in the Mufakose community.
“When these kids reduce the levels of poverty in this community by playing football, I will be a happy man. There is money in football. If two or three kids can make it big in football, everybody else will learn that this is the right way to go,” Chirambadare said. Chirambadare says his focus is to develop football by exporting the mind of the young players. Chirambadare started the academy back in 2009, but has over 60 young footballers under his care. He is brothers with former Dynamos player Ernest Chirambadare.
“Football is for footballers, it’s not for supporters. Supporters can never run football. It will never work, it’s treasonous to put somebody who is not qualified in charge of things,” Chirambadare said. The 53-year old retired player claimed he is a fighter who has always stood for what he believed in. He used the president of Dynamos Kenny Mubaiwa as an example. He said the president was under pressure as he disregarded junior football, buying players season after season, without real development of football.
In his criticism, Chirambadare didn’t spare the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZiFA). He said since football was a big business, that the FA shouldn’t be begging for money as they do. He challenged the FA to return to the drawing board. After his football career, Chirambadare returned to coaching but he couldn’t handle adults that were playing the professional league without the basics; hence the reason to start the academy.