Tonderai Ndiraya

Football career

Ndiraya played for Dynamos occupying the midfield role in which he was well known for his tough marking. He was also known for scoring goals on a regular basis.

After having played for the Glamour Boys for the greater part of his footballing career, Ndiraya was part of the Dynamos pool of players that left the club and went on to join Sporting Lions Football Club after Dynamos was rumoured to be struggling to pay its players.^[1]

Coaching career

Ndiraya was part of the Dynamos technical team alongside former teammate Callisto Pasuwa. During the later half of the season, it was rumored that Ndiraya had fallen out of favour with Pasuwa after which he was sacked from his post.

There were widespread speculations to the effect that Ndiraya was a difficult person to work with which had warranted his dismissal from the post.

It was reported that Pasuwa had written to club Chairman Kenny Mubaiwa stating that he could no longer work with Ndiraya.^[2] Pasuwa was quoted as having said:

I feel we have reached a point where I no longer trust Mr Ndiraya as my assistant and would like to recommend that he be relieved of his duties or be placed somewhere within the club’s structures. I strongly recommend the latter as he has a family to feed and would have to be given enough time to settle and adjust to the decision while he is earning a living within the club’s structures. I would like to go back to the time when I was appointed and asked to bring in my own assistants. I refused, opting to work with him but clearly I can see that Mr Ndiraya did not appreciate my gesture and gratitude towards him. There have been a lot of stories emanating from the technical team, through Mr Ndiraya, and this has resulted in unrest among the players and I don’t want this to affect the club. Therefore, I humbly request that he be moved to other structures within the club.

However, allegations that Pasuwa had written to the bosses at Dembare asking for the sacking of Ndiraya were dismissed by Club Secretary Walter Chikengezha who highlighted that there had been no fallout between Pasuwa and Ndiraya.^[3] Chikengezha was quoted saying:

We met him and he told us the reason for his resignation. He is going to school. I know for sure that he is doing sports management. I don’t know where reports of their differences with Pasuwa are coming from. We are also not aware of the letter written by Pasuwa recommending the reassignment of Ndiraya. We didn’t call Pasuwa to the meeting because he is not the one who resigned.

The coaching career of Ndiraya has been full of controversies in which it has been claimed that he is a difficult fellow to work with.

After having parted ways with the Glamour Boys, Ndiraya made a comeback to the club following the expiry of Callisto Pasuwa's contract.

Ndiraya was rehired as assistant coach to another Dynamos Legend David Mandigora in the year 2014 in a reshuffle that was done at Dynamos Football Club which was done in preparation for the 2015 soccer season.

Ndiraya was to guide Dynamos to the end of the 2015 season after the club parted ways with David Mandigora but his contract was not renewed despite finishing strongly and found himself being hired by Ngezi Platinum who were the new boys in the league and managed to lead them to the Chibuku Super Cup glory which gave them the ticket to play in the CAF Confederations Cup.

Ndiraya was sacked by Ngezi before the end of the 2018 season for poor results and then was rehired by Dynamos in 2019 after the sacking of Lloyd Chigowe for poor results. He was assisted by Biggie Zuze and Gift Muzadzi.

He also worked with Gateway High School before as their school football team coach.

Ndiraya was part of the Dynamos team which made the heroic feat of reaching the CAF Clubs Championships finals in 1998.

Suspension By Dynamos

On 21 May 2022, Ndiraya was suspended by Dynamos after a crisis meeting held by the club executive along with majority shareholder Benard Marriott-Lusengo in Harare.^[4]

The club did not explain its decision but it was speculated that Ndiraya was being accused of corruption and insubordination. A Club statement issued at the time read:

We write to advise all stakeholders that our HEAD COACH, TONDERAI NDIRAYA has been temporarily asked not to report for duty with immediate effect pursuant to a meeting that was held on 21st May 2022. The Club is not in a position to discuss the details of this development until the internal due process is finalized.

Dynamos lifted Ndiraya's suspension on 27 May 2022 after he was cleared to continue in his role by the club’s disciplinary committee.^[5]

When Ndiraya was suspended, the club was top of the Premier Soccer League table, and after his reinstatement, things were never the same again.

Parting Ways With Dynamos

On 15 November 2022, Dynamos announced that Ndiraya's contract which was set to expire on 31 December 2022 was not going to be renewed.^[6] The club said in a statement:

Dynamos Football Club announces that head coach Tonderai Ndiraya’s contract with the club will not be renewed after its expiry on the 31st of December 2022.

It is with regret that we have reached this difficult decision but Ndiraya will always be remembered for his contribution to Dynamos both as a player and a coach. However, this development does not dwarf the work Ndiraya has done in the last few years to rebuild Dynamos and position it for long-term success.

Ndiraya remains a Dynamos son whose loyalty to the club has never been doubted. We wish Ndiraya all the best in his future endeavours.

Ndiraya The Soccer Analyst

Although Ndiraya had spent some time outside of mainstream soccer activity following his resignation at Dembare after an alleged fallout with then Dembare coach Pasuwa, he remained in football circles and appeared on numerous occasions as a football analyst for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.

Related Profiles You Might Want to See

Chamu Musanhu Memory Mucherahowa Gift Muzadzi Callisto Pasuwa Masimba Dinyero Lloyd Mutasa

References