BY FORTUNE MBELE CHICKEN Inn have found a replacement for their retired veteran midfielder Clemence Matawu after robbing Ngezi Platinum Stars of speedster Michael Charamba. Charamba (24) suffered a horrific knee injury in August 2019 in a league game against Chapungu United at Ascot Stadium in Gweru. An impeccable source at the club said 2020 came as a blessing for Charamba as he got enough time to recover and has since signed a two-year contract with the GameCocks. “Charamba has recovered and he signed a two-year contract with Chicken Inn. The club believes in Charamba that they have a suitable player to fill in the boots of (Clemence) Matawu,” the source said. Chicken Inn secretary-general Tavengwa Hara could neither confirm nor deny that they had brought Charamba on board. “What I can tell you is that we are still searching for a player to replace Matawu and when the time comes, we will make the announcement,” he said. Charamba attracted the attention of then Warriors gaffer Sunday Chidzambga in 2018 following a good season with Ngezi the previous year. Matawu announced his retirement in December last year at the age of 38, a decision which he says was not premised on lack of football activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said it was a decision he had made at the beginning of the year. The veteran midfielder, said to be doing administrative work at Chicken Inn and tipped to be roped into the technical team, had his playing career spanning close to two decades. He started his club football at Motor Action under coach Joey Antipas at the turn of the century and the Mighty Bulls took him to Poland, where he had brief stints with two clubs before returning home. Antipas lured him to Chicken Inn in 2016 and he was a vital cog in the GameCocks midfield department until he called it a day. He featured on the soccer stars of the year calendar for a record six times and won the top gong in 2006. Matawu has a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Sport Science and Coaching from the National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo.
