The Standard

30 The Standard August 3 to 9 2014
Sport
Nengomasha
haunted by
Jimmy Jambo
incident
While it is Jambo whose career could
prematurely end and should be ruing that
horrific tackle, it is Nengomasha who appears
haunted
BY MICHAEL MADYIRA
OCTOBER 19 2012 will forever linger
on the mind of former Warriors
and Kaizer Chiefs left-back
Zhaimu “Jimmy” Jambo.
A dreadful lunge by compatriot
Tinashe Nengomasha in the Telkom
Cup first round match between
Chiefs and Wits University
left his knee irreparably damaged.
As fate would have it, the incident
happened with a minute remaining
to full-time.
Two years later, at a tender age
of 26, Jambo is contemplating retirement
from football because of
the injury.
While it is Jambo whose career
could prematurely end and should
be ruing that horrific tackle, it is
Nengomasha who appears haunted.
“I regret ever taking part in that
game and if I could turn back the
hands of time, I would have sat
out,” said Nengomasha.
“Whenever I think about that
day, I get sad. It is painful to me
and I will live with that pain forever.
I did not mean to hurt Jimmy.
When I heard that he was planning
to retire I have been frantically
trying to get hold of him but you
know his phones are off most of
the times.”
In pain . . . Zhaimu Jambo (on the ground) holds his dislocated knee after a crude tackle by Tinashe Nengomasha
True to Nengomasha’s word, it
has been impossible for Standardsport
to get hold of Jambo for the
past two weeks.
The incident in question happened
when Nengomasha had
just left Chiefs for Wits and most
Chiefs fans concluded that he was
a bitter man and decided to vent
his acrimony on Jambo.
“I know people are quick to
judge and are saying a lot of
things, including that I intentionally
hurt him because I still had
issues with Chiefs. I think people
saw what happened on TV. If you
look at the video, it is clear my intentions
were not to harm Jimmy,”
said Nengomasha.
“Before Chiefs signed Jimmy,
they asked for my views on him
just the way I had recommended
Knowledge Musona and [Willard]
Katsande. So how could I have intentionally
hurt him? I had not
watched Jimmy in action before
but I recommended him on the basis
of him being a national team
player.”
The former Warriors vice-captain
and Mpumalanga Black Aces
new acquisition has pledged the
upkeep of Jambo in the event that
he finally retires.
“I have talked to my wife about
it and I will see what I can do for
Jimmy if he is no longer playing.
I have to chip in here and there
whenever I can,” he said.
While it has been widely concluded
that Jambo has made a final
decision to hang his boots,
Kaizer Chiefs have insisted that
the defender has not yet made a final
decision.
Chiefs media and corporate
communications manager, told
Standardsport on Friday that the
player has only shown intention to
call it a day.
“Jimmy has not retired as yet,”
said Maphosa.
“There has been just intention
to retire. The issue is currently under
discussion between him and
the club. He is still contracted to us
for another year.”
Manager Bobby Motaung had issued
a conflicting statement during
a press conference on July 23.
“Jimmy Jambo has decided to
hang his boots because of his injury”
Motaung said then.
A statement on their official website
that day read, “Left-back Jimmy
Jambo is planning to hang up
his boots and will be making the announcement
soon in that regard.”
After trying to come back last
season and making only bench appearances,
chances are high that
Jambo will retire.
The chances have also been
heightened by the fact that he is
not currently training.
harare Junior league to
stage U-13 tournament
BY OuR CORREspONDENt
MOTOR Action Sports Club and
Prince Edward will play host to a
junior provincial football tournament
which is set to conclude on 11
August.
The tourney will bring together
provincial junior clubs with the
aim to uncover and capture grassroots
talent that has not been exposed
to any big football tournaments.
Harare Junior Provincial league
chairman Oma Kadehwe shared
the unique aspects of the forthcoming
football festival.
“It’s a unique tournament where
we seek to uncover junior talent,
we have also introduced player licences
for the kids with the aim to
curb rampant age-cheating in major
junior football tournaments in
the country,” he said.
He cited the just-ended Copa Coca-cola
and Nash competitions as
examples of events blighted by agecheating
controversies.
“In this day and age, we cannot
depend on birth certificates alone
because they can be tempered with,
hence the need for licences at junior
level. Also, match referees in
this tournament will not be handing
out cards, but rather teach offenders
the correct rules of the
game,” he added.
There is a floating trophy for the
winners as well as individual accolades
for player of the tournament,
top goal scorer and best goalkeeper.
Sadly, the tournament is yet to attract
corporate support and continues
to extend the begging bowl to
potential sponsors for the development
of junior football.
zambia midfielder moves to India
ZAMBIA and Zesco United midfielder
Kondwani Mtonga has joined Indian
club Shilong Lajong.
The 28-year-old defensive midfielder
moves to the ambitious I-League
on a short term deal from Zesco.
“Team vice captain Kondwani
Mtonga is set to join Indian side
Shilong Lajog on a six-month loan
deal after negotiations that started in
April,” Zesco’s media officer Katebe
Chengo said.
Mtonga has already amassed 22
Zambia caps in his short career since
making his Chipolopolo debut in
April 2013, in a 2-0 friendly win over
Zimbabwe in Lusaka.
And Mtonga will be the second
Zambian player to move to India this
August after midfielder Isaac Chansa
who is also moving the sub continent
after a brief spell at Faz Super
League side Zanaco.
Meanwhile, Zesco have recalled
defender Nyambe Mulenga after a
successful loan spell at Power Dynamos.
Nyambe left Zesco in January
when he was deemed excess to their
requirements for the 2014 season.
— Supersport
Dawe targets World Rally Champs
BY MuNYARADzI MADzOkERE
TOP Zimbabwean motor rally navigator
Gareth Dawe says his ultimate
goal is to compete in the FIA World
Rally Championships.
Dawe and his Zambian partner
Mohammed Essa, the 2012 Africa
rally champion, are currently lying
second on the 2014 Africa Rally
Championship standings following
battling wins in Zambia in May and
at the Rwanda Mountain Gorrilla
Rally a fortnight ago.
Standardsport caught up with
Dawe at Donnybrook Park last
weekend while he took some time
out to enjoy drag racing festivities.
“To be honest, I would love to do
a world rally championships event
before I retire as a rally navigator.
That is the ultimate goal but we are
looking to join the European Championships
in France next year. We
will see after the end of the ARC season
what we can do,” he said.
He said his driver and him already
had an international competitions
licence required to take their
Zimbabwe/Zambia rally connection
to the more lucrative European
territory.
“We have already acquired our
international competitions licence
and to represent Zimbabwe in Europe
will be fantastic. There are
South Africans who are doing well
there as we speak and if we can do a
Zimbabwe and Zambia partnership,
why not?” said Dawe.
Meanwhile Dawe said he was confident
he would be an African champion
navigator this season. He gave
a lot of praise for his driver Mohammed
Essa.
“As you know, we are just a point
behind the leaders. We are confident
of winning the next race in Uganda
Zambian Mohamed Essa and Zimbabwean Gareth Dawe power their Subaru Impreza
N16 to victory in the Airtel Zambia International Rally
and then after that finish the last
two races in good positions and then
we will be crowned champions.
“Essa [Mohammed] is a fantastic
driver, he is a really quick, level
headed, mature driver and we get
along very well in the car. I think his
career going forward will be really
brilliant,” assured Dawe.
Ivory Coast’s Gary Chaynes with
his partner Roman Cosman in their
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo lead the
2014 Africa rally standings with 76
points, a point ahead of Essa and
Dawe’s Subaru Impreza N16 while
Kenyan Jaspreet Singh Chatthe and
Dave Sihoka are a distant 3rd on 58
points.
There are only three races left on
the Africa rally calendar with attention
immediately shifting to the
Pearl of Africa Uganda rally penciled
for August 15 to 17, then KCB
Safari Rally, Kenya from September
12 -14, winding up at the Madagascar
International Rally, early November.
Dawe began his relationship with
motor sport in motocross at the age
of seven before moving to Main Circuit
and subsequently joining rally
in 1995.