Zimbabwe striker and China based Nyasha Mushekwi who plays for Zhejiang side in the Chinese Super League wrote a letter that explains why he bought CAPS United a team bus to thank the club that gave him his first contract.
Mushekwi’s honest and heart-rending letter, which you should really take the time to read in full, addresses one of the biggest challenge faced by African football players - Travel. "I remember once we had a game in Malawi and they flew in some players from Europe to Harare and then expected them to travel 14 hours by bus to Malawi." Mushekwi writes. "All of this travelling is made worse by the fact that they are just normal buses. There is little space and the players sit cramped for many hours."
People have sent me photos of the bus being used by not only CAPS, but the national cricket team, the women's national team and other teams. I am pleased that it is not only working for one purpose, which was CAPS United, but for the greater good.
Mushekwi recalls seeing some impressive football team buses in Europe and South Africa and says "I wanted to give something back to CAPS for taking a chance on me. In 2019, I decided to buy them a proper team bus, like they have in Europe."
This decision was not without its own challenges, back in 2019, The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) seized the US$120 000 45-seater coach cost, demanding an additional customs duty tax. "I bought the bus in China and sent it to Zimbabwe." he says "Getting it there was a big challenge. I just wanted to donate the bus, but suddenly so many people got involved. Some people didn't want the bus in Zimbabwe. I don't know whether it was just jealousy. It's just African politics in football, I guess. They were trying to sabotage the whole process, making me pay more tax, more duties. In the end, I ended up paying money that could have bought another bus."
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| The Bus bought by Mushekwi |
In his letter, Mushekwi makes it clear that he has no regrets and is happy to have bought the bus since it is now helping various Zimbabwean teams "People have sent me photos of the bus being used by not only CAPS, but the national cricket team, the women's national team and other teams. I am pleased that it is not only working for one purpose, which was CAPS United, but for the greater good. The whole process of also trying to get it into Zimbabwe was a big problem, but in the end the whole purpose was to help – and it's helping a lot of people."
Read Mushekwi’s full letter here.
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