FORMER Highlanders coach Methembe Ndlovu has been appointed assistant coach at Penn State University, Pennsylvania in the United States of America.Penn State University’s Nittany Lions play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 league of the US college soccer.
BY FORTUNE MBELE
The former Bantu Rovers owner’s appointment was confirmed on Penn State University’s official sports website.Ndlovu is assistant to Jeff Cook.
“Methembe Ndlovu enters his first season as a men’s soccer assistant coach after joining the program in August 2020. Ndlovu comes to Happy Valley after being the technical director of The Bantu Academy in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe from 2018 to 2019,” a statement on the website read.
Ndlovu won Highlanders’ last Premier Soccer League title in 2006 and took them to the 2007 Caf Champions League where they were elbowed out in the second round by Egyptian giants Al Ahly after holding the North African club to a goalless draw at home before losing 2-0 away.
He is not new to coaching in the US where in 2002 he was a player/assistant coach at the Cape Cod Crusaders.
In 2003 as head coach, he led the Cape Cod Cusaders to the Premier Development League (PDL) National Championship.
He then joined Indiana Invaders in the same league as general manager and head coach and was voted PDL National Coach of the Year in 2004.
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In the same year, Ndlovu also served as volunteer coach for University of Notre Dame’s men team.
After winning the title at Highlanders in 2006, Ndlovu was appointed Under-20 Young Warriors coach, a post he held from 2007 to 2010, leading the team to the Cosafa Championship in 2007 and silver medal the following year.
He has also played for Highlanders, Albuquerque Geckos in New Mexico and the Boston Bulldogs in Massachusetts, winning a number of accolades in the US. He played for the senior national team between 1997 and 1999.
A former Zifa board member, Ndlovu is co-founder of Grassroots Soccer Inc. (GRS) and was part of the Africa leadership, leaving as chief executive officer for GRS Africa in 2018 to serve on the organisation’s board.
Ndlovu founded Bantu Rovers in 2008 and coached the team which intermittently played in the Premier Soccer League until 2017 when he decided to concentrate on the Bantu Academy.
