By Mubukwanu Kaingu
FOOTBALL executive and consultant Ponga Liwewe has described the late Zambian soccer strongman Tom Mtine as a solider of the game.
Mtine, 97 died on Tuesday in Ndola and was put to rest on Wednesday at his village in Chipata.
Liwewe said in an interview one could fill volumes to chronicle how much Mtine had contributed to Zambian football in his over 70 years of service to the game.
Mtine was the first black head of the Football Association of Zambia.
“Mr. Tom Mtine’s passing is a huge blow for Zambian football. He was instrumental in the early years when he came into office, particularly in the early ‘70s of laying the foundation that made Zambian football the household name that it has become in African football,” Liwewe said.
Liwewe said Mtine helped draw up the framework of schools and grassroots community football that produced 1974 such AFCON icons like Jani Simulambo, Kaizer Kalambo and Dick Chama.
“And of course, he was in the forefront of ensuring that young talent was given an opportunity to show what it could do,” Liwewe said.
“It was on that foundation in the early 1970 that Zambia built the team that reached the final of the 1974 AFCON final.
“Mr. Mtine was heavily involved in Zambian football development and of course, his passing means we have lost one of the founders, or one of the fathers, of Zambian football’s success.”
Liwewe also revealed that Mtine’s status and impact go beyond the borders of local football but also on the continental stage and remains the only Zambian to stand as a candidate for the CAF presidency.
“But he wasn’t only a household name in the local game because he was for many years a key member of the CAF Executive Committee,” Liwewe said.
“In fact in 1988 after the passing of CAF President Ydnekatchew Tessema died, Mr. Mtine stood against Issa Hayatou, when Issa Hayatou won the election and became CAF president for many years.
“But the fact he was bold enough, the fact that he was confident enough, the fact that he had the expertise, and the fact that he had the respect of his peers to be put up as a candidate, shows just how much he was recognised and showed how high head-and-shoulders he stood in African football.”
Mtine was also a permanent fixture as a VIP guest at every AFCON.
“His contribution there was immense. Even after he had retired from African football, he was a regular sight at AFCON tournaments. It showed that even after he left the stage at CAF, he was a person who was highly recognized for what he had contributed to the Federation,”Liwewe said.
“So it is a sad blow for Zambia obviously and we all understand time eventually gets to this stage when we all have to leave this earth.”
Beyond football and local government, Mtine also served as chairman of the Zambian division of the once revered British industrial and mining holding conglomerate LONRHO.
Mtine was also the first chairman of Zambia Airways after independence when it broke away from the colonial carrier Central African Airways.
“But Mr. Mtine’s loss will be felt very strongly, I mean beyond football, in Zambia on the economic front and in Ndola he had been mayor one of the first black mayors. It actually just shows that all these achievements he had made and contributed to in his life,” Liwewe said.
“One time we had a private chat about his role in football and he spoke passionately about how he had been involved in Kitwe when football was getting established in the mines and in the communities there.
“So he has a vast repertoire that he can show for what he had achieved in football so he will be sorely missed.
“Zambia will definitely miss this solder, this great man who contributed so greatly to the game.”
