The former towering Highlanders defender bemoaned the waning standards of football in his homeland, which culminated in the team failing to qualify for the 2008 African Nations Cup finals in Ghana after a disastrous showing in the qualifying stages.
“I have on several occasions made concerted efforts to offer my services to football in my homeland but the leadership of Zimbabwean football and other stakeholders have not shown a readiness to utilize my services,” lamented Maseko.
He said former players had a role to play in the development of football but that was not the case in Zimbabwe where they are not given administrative roles, much to the detriment of the country’s football.
“A lot needs to be done to uplift the standard of the game in Zimbabwe. Stakeholders involved in football should show commitment. They must have the love of the game at heart,” said Maseko, adding that he could assist Zimbabwean footballers wishing to break into the lucrative South African league.
He has spent about 15 years in South Africa, where he is now a permanent resident.
“Having spent so many years and having played in South Africa, I am well placed to assist. That is if the players and their agents are willing to liaise with me,” he said in his teeming shop.
After winning the league with Bosso in 1991, The Cool Ruler followed that up with a successful stint with reigning local champions Mamelodi Sundowns in the 1990s, where he played with such South African legends as Phil and Bennett Masinga, Sam Khambule (late) Harold Legodi and Linda Buthelezi, most of whom were in the national team that Zimbabwe trounced 4-1 in the African Nations Cup qualifier in Harare in 1992.
He won the league championship with Sundowns in 1993 before hanging up his boots a few years later.
Maseko, who was part of ‘The Dream Team’ that missed qualification for the 1994 Nations Cup World Cup by a whisker, is now an entrepreneur. He owns a thriving cellular phone business in Midrand, on the outskirts of Johannesburg.
“I am doing well. I am always exploiting opportunities that can enhance its growth,” he said of his business, which is a franchise entity of Vodacom, South Africa’s biggest cellphone network operator.
Maseko’s career as an entrepreneur started when his career was waning and the network operator approached him to do corporate work for them.
Maseko believes his teenage son, Alexander junior, who plays for Randburg, will emulate him and could soon be a household name.
“Alexander is among several gems that we have unearthed at this club. You will be hearing a lot about him and the other lads in the near future. Let me stress again that I am coaching voluntarily. It is my way of giving back to football. I am not asking to get paid for fulfilling my social responsibility,” Maseko said.
Post published in: Zimbabwe Sports News