Former Chippa United coach wins league title in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe head coach Norman Mapeza

Former Chippa United head coach Norman Mapeza has won the Castle Lager Premier Soccer league title with the Zimbabwean side FC Platinum, after closing off what was a dominant season, with a 3-0 drubbing of Cranborne Bullets at Mandava Stadium on Saturday.

Mapeza who was a victim of the revolving door at Chippa, helped Platinum to win their fourth league title in a row. The Zimbabwean-born mentor dramatically parted company with the Gqeberha-based side in 2020, citing maladministration from the club’s hierarchy.

Platinum had a record-breaking 21-game unbeaten run, to clinch the league title with an impressive 75 points tally, and 12 points clear from the second placed Chicken Inn. Platinum joined Dynamos in the history books to become the second team to win the Zimbabwean league four times in a row. Mapeza and his troops amassed 52 goals on the road to being crowned champions, while conceding just 14 goals, which was the least number of goals conceded in the Zimbabwean Premiership in the season.

The Chilli Boys chairman Chippa Mpengesi is known for his impulsive sacking of coaches if the results are not forthcoming. Mapeza was one of 34 coaches to have been shown the exit door at the Gqeberha-based club in the last 10 years.

In the current DStv Premiership campaign, Chippa have already made a coaching change after firing the inexperienced Daine Klate, barely three months after being appointed as the club’s head coach.

Morgan Mammila who served as a CEO in most of the local clubs he previously worked at, was surprisingly called upon to replace Klate. Mammila did relatively well, and broke the record of becoming the first Chippa manager to win four games in a row in the history of the club in the topflight.

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Norman Mapeza at the Bidvest Stadium, Johannesburg on the 24 February 2020.
Image: ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Norman Mapeza, coach of Chippa United during the 2020 Nedbank Cup match between Bidvest Wits and Chippa United at the Bidvest Stadium, Johannesburg on the 24 February 2020 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix