FC PLATINUM coach Tennant Chilumba has quit the Zimbabwean Premiership football club to join Power Dynamos in his native Zambia as revealed by NewsDay Sport last week. Report by Wellington Toni
Assistant coach Tendai Chikuni will be in charge of Platinum until the Zvishavane side makes a substantive appointment.
Chikuni’s first match in charge is against Motor Action at the Motor Action Sports Club in Harare next Wednesday before they host Black Rhinos at Mandava in Week 15 to round off the first half of the season.
FC Platinum president George Mawere said in a statement yesterday: “FC Platinum Football Club advises that it has agreed with immediate effect to release Tenant Chilumba as its first team coach following requests for his services by Power Dynamos of Zambia as well as that country’s football authorities where he serves as a member of the national team’s technical committee.
“Since joining FC Platinum, Chilumba had become an integral part of the club which he has assisted in ensuring that it remains a competitive top-flight team. However, demands for his services by his country’s national team have placed an overdue burden on his work schedule and made it impossible to continuously balance his frequent trips with the need to maintain his regular presence at the club he dearly loves.
“Tendai Chikuni, who has had a previous stint as coach of the club and was first assistant to Chilumba, will take over as caretaker coach until a substantive replacement has been found.”
This is not the first time that Chikuni has been in the hot seat after he took over from Rahman Gumbo last season, only to end the season in seventh place. With the news of Chilumba’s departure spreading like wildfire yesterday, a number of names have already been thrown into the ring to take over.
Some like Norman Mapeza and Lloyd Chitembwe have been in the frame for more than a year now, but Platinum have never considered them before. Highlanders boss Kelvin Kaindu, whose contract at the Bulawayo giants runs out at the end of the year, has also come into the picture.
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Power Dynamos sacked Beston Chambeshi and the entire coaching bench after a poor run of results and immediately invited Chilumba for interviews last Wednesday. He was set to be officially unveiled at the Arthur Davies Stadium in Kitwe yesterday.
Chilumba, the 2011 Coach of the Year, had only been in charge of Platinum for 13 matches having arrived from Hwange in the off-season.
Pure Platinum Play lie in fifth place with 22 points, seven behind leaders Highlanders, who are coached by his compatriot, Kaindu. Platinum have won six matches, drawn four and lost three this season.
