By Sports writer
HUNDREDS of football fans, former players and administrators converged in Gweru on Wednesday to pay their last respects to former Caps United and national team player Tapiwa Kumbuyani who was laid to rest at Mtapa cemetery.
Kumbuyani died on Sunday at the age of 41 after a battle with liver cancer.
Notable figures from the football community present included former players Desmond Maringwa,Melody Wafawanaka,Hebert Dick, Phillip Marufu, Wonder Sithole, Rowan Nenzou, Wonder Chaka and many others who played together with the late defender.
Chaka,a prolific goal scorer during his playing at Gweru United, described Kumbuyani as a son, saying he was deeply hurt at the loss of the player whom he worked with at Zimalloys fc in the early 2000s.
“I want to appreciate everyone for coming here to give a send off to my son, he was a young man who showed a lot of promise back in the day when we worked together, it is sad we lost him so early in his life,” he said.
FUZ president, Maringwa said Kumbuyani was a leader par excellence and a role model of what a modern day footballer should be.
“He was a player who revolutionalised football in terms of how the modern game should be. I played against him when he was at Caps United and we developed mutual respect for each other,” he said.
“He was a good leader that is why he went on to captain a lot of teams in the premier league. Even at personal level we all heard what he was doing for his family it shows his leadership characteristics.”
Kumbuyani’s childhood friend and former teammate at Chapungu Hebert Saopa said the void left by Kumbuyani was hard to fill.
“We grew up together,went to the same schools at both primary and secondary school although he was a year older, i am short of words because i do not know how i will cope in his absence, we came a long way together,” Saopa said.
Kumbuyani began his football journey at Chapungu in 2003 before leaving to join Masvingo United and later Monomutapa and Blue Ribbon.
He also featured for Caps United, How Mine and Bantu Rovers before coming back to Chapungu where he retired in 2019.At national team level he was capped seven times.
