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Mathe takes over at Chiefs

Sport
Chiefs secretary Dumisani Mantula-Sibanda yesterday confirmed Toots’ sacking and the roping in of Mathe.

BY FORTUNE MBELE

PREMIER Soccer League (PSL) side Bulawayo Chiefs have fired coach Thulani Sibanda and roped in Mark Mathe, who has immediately taken charge of the team as it prepares for the resumption of the Chibuku Super Cup tournament.

Mathe bounces back to the PSL after stints with Highlanders, Caps United and Harare City and leaves Zifa Southern Region Division One side Talen Vision.

Chiefs secretary Dumisani Mantula-Sibanda yesterday confirmed Toots’ sacking and the roping in of Mathe.

“As Bulawayo Chiefs we have a dream and in the pursuit of our dream we felt he (Sibanda) does not fit in the plans as far as our dreams are concerned. For that reason, we decided to part ways  with him and have a new technical set-up and we think the new people we are bringing in meet those dreams,” Sibanda said.

There were speculative reports that two coaches from Portugal would be taking over, with Mathe being an understudy as an assistant coach, but Sibanda declined to comment on the matter.

He, however, said Mathe was in charge of the team as coach and the technical team still has vacancies to be filled by quality coaches to satisfy their ambitions.

“I can confirm that Mark Mathe has duly started as our coach and he is with the team at training as we speak. We are still working on bringing in other coaches, not necessarily expatriates from Portugal. All I know is that our technical department is not yet full. We are still working on it. Mark comes in as coach and the talk about the Portuguese coaches is out. We are working on bringing in coaches to fit into our dreams and when they are all here with Mathe, we will announce who will be the head coach,” Sibanda said.

Thulani got Chiefs promoted back to the PSL after winning the 2018 Zifa Southern Region Division One championship and quit the club before the start of the top league in March 2019, only to bounce back a month later for Chiefs to survive relegation.

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