BY SPORTSCAST WRITER
HARARE – Growing up in Zimbabwe, sporty Stephen Nyamuzinga yearned for a Test cap for his country in the pinnacle format of world cricket.
But he will now don a different kind of a cap after graduating with an MBA degree from the European International University (EIU).
The 35-year-old former first-class cricketer has been working in Namibia over the past few years, in business and sports.
His MBA in Sports Management, he commented, has equipped him with the expertise to explore greater opportunities in the business side of sport.
“My journey in sport has opened numerous opportunities and endless possibilities, reason why I embarked on this academia route,” Nyamuzinga told SportsCast from Windhoek on Saturday.
“I hope all this acquired knowledge from the cricket pitch into the classroom will breed new solutions and sports models that will get Zimbabwe in its right place in the world of sports. I hope my journey will inspire the next generation of sports people to have a more balanced approach to life and put the same effort on the sports field and in class.”
Nyamuzinga has encouraged other ex-stars to widen their horizon in their post-playing days.
“One of the least explored sports avenues in the world, particularly in developing countries, is getting former players and coaches into academia, especially sports academia, research and educational qualifications in the sports sector. The least explored avenue has a number of opportunities and that could be where our solutions are for our constant problems in our sports.”
A top to middle-order batsman and accurate medium-pace bowler – Nyamuzinga played 22 first-class, 23 List A and 16 T20 matches – a huge chunk of those for the Manicaland Mountaineers franchise.
Nyamuzinga showed promise beyond years when he first emerged onto the provincial scene as a 19-year-old, scoring his maiden first-class century for Manicaland just a few games after debuting.
Onlookers tipped him to play international cricket for Zimbabwe in no time, but that never materalised so he turned to his other passion, imparting and acquiring knowledge.
After completing his MBA with the Paris-based institution, a university in Philippines has invited Nyamuzinga to study for his doctorate.
“Based on the evaluation of your academic credentials and admission interview results, I am pleased to inform you that the admissions committee of the graduate school of Philippine Christian University has recommended you for admission to the following programme: Doctor of Philosophy in Business Management with specialisation in International Marketing (Sports Marketing).”
Nyamuzinga was schooled at Peterhouse College in his place of birth, Marondera, playing a variety of sports. He was a star player in the school’s first football team and he could easily have taken that path at adult level.
Cricket was closest to his heart though and while at Peterhouse, Nyamuzinga was in 2001 selected into a star-studded Zimbabwe Under-15 team that represented the cream of a fine generation of young Zimbabwean cricket talent those days.
The side included six future internationals notably three Zimbabwe captains in the making – Brendan Taylor, Graeme Cremer and Seam Williams – as well as recently retired New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme. Tino Mawoyo and Tafadzwa Mufambisi were the others.
As for Nyamuzinga, it appears he is now destined for the boardroom.
