Fanzone Player Feature: Kwangwa the wall of Maramba

Renco Mine Football Club goalkeeper Freedom Kwangwa is behind his side’s rise to 9th on 20 points after keeping five straight clean sheets during their current six-match unbeaten run.

Before Buffaloes FC ended the streak with a 1-1 draw in Mutare over the weekend, Kwangwa had turned Maramba Stadium into a fortress where only Deportivo La Murambinda have won this season.

“Goalkeeper mode is activated,” he told Fanzone. Hard work in training, trust in his backline, and 100% concentration for 90 minutes is how the Wall of Maramba is doing it.

Gone are the relegation scraps of the 2025 Pacific Storm Eastern Region Soccer League.

This season Renco Mine look like a different beast. At the heart of the purple patch is Kwangwa, who has made Maramba a cauldron for opposition strikers.

A few weeks back even giants Bikita Minerals FC felt it – the Lithium Boys were humbled 1-0, with Kwangwa central as he made several key saves to keep them out.

Ask him why it’s clicking and he points straight to graft and belief.

“Honestly, it’s been hard work in training. My confidence is high because I trust the backline in front of me – we communicate well. But most of all I’ve just switched on. Goalkeeper mode is activated. I’m only focused on one job: keeping the ball out.”

That focus lasts the full 90. For Kwangwa, the job isn’t done until the referee blows.

“In my head it’s just ‘100% concentration’. 90 minutes isn’t over until the whistle blows. I stay locked in, talk to the defense, set the wall right. There’s pressure, but I turn it into energy. One mistake can cost everything, so I’m ready for every single shot.”

The run for a sixth straight clean sheet is over, but the mindset stays the same. Stay humble. Stack games. One at a time.

“No big pressure because I take it one game at a time. When you’re in the zone, things just slow down – you read the ball’s path and it feels easier. But I respect the run. I stay humble and keep working hard to get more clean sheets for the team.”

From fighting relegation last year to building a fortress this year. Renco Mine have found their wall. And Freedom Kwangwa, in his own words to Fanzone, is just getting started.