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I LEFT CITY WITH A HEAVY HEART - CALEB

09/08/2017 08:27:00 BY BHEKISISA MAGONGO

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MBABANE – “Midas City is my life, but I can’t be there now.”

You could feel the heaviness in his heart, as long-serving Mbabane Midas City coach Caleb Ngwenya finally opened up about the state of affairs at the club he has sacrificed everything to uphold over the years.
His face stiffened as he tried to control his emotions as he struggled to accept the fact that he has left the club. He felt betrayed by the current leadership that recently held a once-in-a-lifetime Annual General Meeting AGM where new directors were announced,and that his and Polycarp Dlamini’s names were not in the list of new leadership chaired by former player Innocent ‘Chopper’ Mavuso.
“I never thought I would one day say something like this about Midas City, but to clear things out, I feel like I have to clarify lest people have misconceptions about me in this whole thing,” he said.

He said since the late owner Rueben ‘Skwaya’ Gwebu died, the club has had five directors who were Peter Magagula, Bongani Mdluli, Dan Dlamini, Caleb Ngwenya and Polycarp Dlamini.
He said the chairmanship has rotated between Dan Dlamini, Peter Magagula and lastly, Polycarp Dlamini.
“I was fortunate to serve under all of them as manager and coach. And players have been coming and going without any meeting being held. It is therefore strange that we are now being questioned over players’ departure when no one bothered when they joined the team,” he said.

He said Dlamini has single-handedly forked out money to buy new players, which he as coach had scouted and negotiated with their clubs. He said he has housed a number of the club’s players, especially those who were schooling. And during his term, he fed them only with assistance of Dlamini.
“They can all attest to the fact that none of them paid the E3 000 subscription for one to be a fully paid director in the club. The money is not much when you consider the expensive costs of running a club these days. Football is a business,” he said.

When contacted, the club Secretary of the Directors Bongani ‘Bhanyaza’ Mdluli said they would not comment as they were busy reviving the team which has been left depleted by the departure of such a number of players. He said they will issue a statement to state their side, once they have put everything in order.
Meanwhile, Ngwenya, in his parting words, said he left with a heavy heart and further warned the current leadership to make sure to bring the team back to him when they find the going tough, than to dump it.
Questioned on his future, the coach, who has been linked to Vovovo FC and Manzini Sundowns recently, did not disclose his suitors, except to confirm that there were offers on the table. He said he was still to decide on his next move, even though he said he was not in any hurry.