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GOD, PLEASE SAVE WANDERERS

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My dearest readers ... 

“As we join Kaizer Chiefs in their celebration of their Golden Jubilee. We do so in recognition of the need by our country and society to build institutions. Institutions help society have a memory (institutional memory) that helps it learn and build on its experience rather than attempt, on a whim and a prayer, to reinvent the wheel. We welcome and give praise to the founding and sustained growth of Kaizer Chiefs. There are not many fifty-year-old institutions around.”

These immortal words were penned by the all-too-powerful Orlando Pirates boss Dr Irvin ‘Iron Duke’ Khoza, when paying tribute to Kaizer Chiefs celebrating its 50th year anniversary. It was a heart-warming tribute but most importantly putting in context the anecdote of having such institutions celebrated and preserved.

Lest we forget, empires, by their nature, do not fall. They crumble – brick by brick. This, in more ways than one, depicts the sad story of Manzini Wanderers Football Club, arguably the most fervently supported club in the Kingdom. Formed in 1957, the maroon and white outfit has degenerated into a modern day football tragedy. Maybe, for starters, one has to declare an interest here.  

worshipped

I grew up in a family which worshipped the ‘Weslians’ with gay abandon; my dearly departed father Thomas Thembizwe Dlamini is the biggest Manzini Wanderers supporter I have known after Mabulalehleka and Dovololo Gamedze. Consistent with men of his generation, he was commonly referred to as TT; A natty dresser, a notorious ladies man, a raconteur, known for his proficiency in the art of ribbing friends and family but most importantly, a man with a sharp sense of humour.  I always tell those who care to listen that over his dead body would you have supported another team, as he declared that he would not even pay for your school fees if you chose another team other than his beloved Liweseli. 

He must be spinning in his grave seeing what has become of the great institution he served with aplomb as part of the Management Committee during those halcyon days, when the maroon and white outfit affected the ‘happiness coefficient’ of thousands of people around the country. Consequently, dear reader, you can either take what I say here today with a lorry load or a pinch of salt but most certainly I am walking on eggshells for obvious reasons.

Not once, I have highlighted the fact that, the ownership of the club is the big elephant in the room. This is primarily the reason there has not been any stability at Wanderers because the chains of command are not clear. It is the reason, some sections of the fans, are not just dancing to the beat of one Majaivane Dlamini, but believe they can roughshod over existing structures to have their way. On the other hand, the shareholders, those that are in the Form J of the registered Company that is Manzini Wanderers, also believe it’s their way or the highway. Then you have the ‘statutory’ committee called the ‘Council of Elders’ who are even meddling in the day-to-day running of the club.

Call it a fruit salad, if you may. But this is precisely what has been the hub giants Achilles Heel for donkey years. The Executive Director might have a bagful of money but in the end he is just a glorified CEO running a few individual’s personal business, which inexplicably also has emotional owners in the form of the rank and file who support the club.

confusion

This, to me, is the genesis of the whole confusion which has seen the club thrive on its own three Cs – Chaos, Crisis and Confusion. As a result, since the untimely demise of Henry ‘Shushu’ Mthethwa, every season has been marred by in-fighting and power struggles within the different committees of the club leadership. 

The constitution, which is supposed to be the guiding principle, is flouted at a whim even by a structure that is supposed to be above reproach. As a result, as it is now, there are two National Supporters Committees (NSC) and players are at sea of what will happen next as they are also owed salaries and signing-on-fees. 

This is a recipe for disaster whatever way you look at it. With players demotivated and demoralised it is not surprising Wanderers has not won anything shiny in the form of silverware since the dearly departed Archie ‘Juluka’ Radebe led them to the EswatiniTelecom Charity Cup triumph on that memorable Sunday of July 28, 2005. Wanderers’ situation is not peculiar. 

It is a perfect picture of all the ills associated with the country’s number one sport. Lack of structures, lack of leadership, lack of policies and a plethora of opportunists obsessed with holding positions even if they do not have the capacity. This starts at club level and manifests itself at national level. That’s why we have to scrape the bottom of the barrel when it is time to elect a new PLE or EFA president.  

mudslinging

The mudslinging between shareholder, Sandile ‘Chief’ Dlamini and former MC Chairman Bongani ‘Bhanyaza’ Mdluli last week was unfortunate. I hope the new director will not be discouraged from taking over by such shenanigans. 

There is no doubt, Wanderers has the potential to be a great club that can even self-sustain, but the lack of structures and chains of command, make it a perfect modern day football tragedy. As it is, it is a case study of how a great club can become a rag-bag of debts as long as Psalms, a personal fiefdom for a few individuals who can’t afford to run it and a sense of belonging for emotional beings who have even forgotten what it feels like to win a Cup.

No doubt, Wanderers now need divine intervention. This is a spiritual warfare that needs serious prayer and deliverance.  This torture has gone on for far too long. God, please save Manzini Wanderers Football Club. Dear Good Lord, please save this great institution from itself. 

Once again, I am certain, ‘TT’, in his deathbed, would probably raise his Castle Lager glass and say, cheers, my son!

Can I get an Amen?



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