Petty talk and factionalism which are common at clubs like Extension Gunners, Mochudi Centre Chiefs and Township Rollers were rarely heard and credit was given to none other than Lebanese-born Nicholas Zakhem of Zack Construction. Zakhem and the GU management as well as the supporters were all singing from the same hymn book and dreaming out aloud together. Success on the pitch was however not matched with success off the pitch and it has taken the club a while to really ignite the spirit of the 80s and early 90s.
Rivals mocked GU questioning the attainment of professionalism when the results on the field were eluding the club. Pressure started mounting on the management and the club fired coach after coach. The arrival of Zakhem at GU was followed by Jackdish Shah’s entry at Township Rollers and Sayed Jamali at Chiefs. And unlike the other two, Jamali has kept a low profile and is still keeping the soccer world guessing as to his ultimate goal with Chiefs. His low profile can be interpreted in two ways; either he wants to take things easy or he is not yet sure of the project he is in and wants to leave the exit door open. Now talk doing the rounds, which Zakhem seems to allude to is that he is contemplating to decamp, with suggestions he may decide to hook up with Kelesitse Gilika at Gilport Lions or bail out Notwane which for years now has been on a sick bed. You see, a hungry person is prone to compromising not only his integrity but values and principles as well. Yes, we can blame it all on the factionalism within our clubs but what I have come to realise is that these so-called investors do not usually put systems in place both administratively or otherwise to propel clubs forward. As a result, factional wars just subside a bit only to rear their ugly heads at a later stage.
