Sources from Zvishavane say Mapeza was high on the list to replace Tennant Chilumba who left recently but the coach has turned down the offer claiming he was still on a break from football.
When contacted Mapeza could neither confirm nor deny the Platinum offer saying he has received 'too many offers' but was not considering any as he was taking a rest.
On that premise, the Zvishavane based side are instead understood to have turned to Warriors assistant coach Lloyd Mutasa who has in principle agreed to take up the job.
Although FC Platinum officials could not be reached to shed light on this development, the sources say the club and Mutasa are only waiting for Mutasa to be cleared by his employers before taking up the post.
Mutasa is employed by the Zimbabwe Prison Services. This is not the first time that Mapeza has refused to take up a job with a top team. Only recently, the former Warriors coach is said to have rejected a move to join top Harare club, Caps United.
Mapeza is out of employment after severing ties with the Warriors following investigations into the Asiagate scandal. The coach received a six month ban, which has since expired.
The charge was that he had not taken measures to prevent his players from accepting money to throw away matches when he took the Warriors to an East and Central Africa Challenge trophy trip.
The former Warriors captain won the Castle Lager Premiership title with Monomotapa in 2008 in his first year as head coach of a Premiership club.
The Zvishavane based FC Platinum are widely regarded as the highest paying club in the country with rumours that former coach Rahman Gumbo was receiving an $8 000 a month salary on top of other perks.
Post published in: Football
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