BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE

MUSIC and footballers do not always make easy bedfellows.

Any footballer that attempts to make music has to deal with the general public’s inherent preconceived ideas and assumptions that they want to use their popularity in the sport to jump-start their showbiz career.

Examples of Zimbabwean footballers who have pursued music careers are very few although names that quickly come to mind include the Germany-based former Caps United midfield maestro Farai Mbidzo and former Dynamos goalkeeper Laban Kandi.

Mbidzo, who hung up his football boots a decade ago, is now the bandleader for reggae band “Oneness” which has been a regular feature on the Hamburg showbiz circuit since its formation in 2005.

Kandi, on the other hand, is enjoying life in showbiz with his heavy rock and Afro-jazz group called Total Package after exchanging the gloves for a music and acting career.

Zambia-based defender Jimmy Dzingai, who was part of the Warriors squad at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt, has managed to juggle both football and music concurrently.

In addition to playing for Power Dynamos in the Zambian league, Dzingai is also a member of the PHD Ministries’ praise and worship team where he plays drums and is also a lead vocalist.

Soon the Zimbabwean music scene could have another ex-footballer in its ranks.

Former Warriors captain and Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Willard Katsande surprised his fans after announcing plans to release a music album as he edges closer towards the end of his football career.

The 34-year-old combative midfielder has recently generated high social media attention with his eccentric dress sense revealed that he is eager to make the jump from the pitch to the world of showbiz.

“…New album almost done…,”Katsande said in a tweet last week.

Responding to a flurry of inquiries from the fans after the announcement, Katsande revealed that he makes music part-time when he is not playing football.

The suspension of the football league in South Africa due to the Covid-19 pandemic appears to have given Katsande enough time to try his hand at music with an album which he said contains a mixture of rhumba and sungura music.

The announcement of the music project comes at a time when Katsande has been causing a stir on social media whenever he posts a snap of himself wearing several eccentric outfits which have sent tongues wagging.

Interestingly, Katsande says he is inspired by local sungura king Aleck Macheso in most of his fashion posts which may have also influenced his desire to start a music career.

From his donning the doek or head wraps, as it’s more popularly known, oversized pants to ripped shirt sleeves, the Zimbabwe international knows how to get people talking and has been trending on social media as often as he has received plaudits for his exploits on the field of play.

However, some of the snide comments which the controversial outfits have attracted haven’t discouraged him from sharing his fashion taste.

“Confidence is key,” he recently captioned a video in which he sports another talked-about outfit.

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