The country woke up to another sad chapter when news reached the ears of many football lovers across the land of the brave, blaring the shock departure of one of the greatest footballers to have ever played the game.

Though he did not play a single match on home soil, the late Boston Muyambango Likando, famously known as ‘Ponny’ in social circles, will go down in history as one of the finest athletes of his generation.

The author got to know Bro ‘Ponny’ up close during a short visit to Katima Mulilo in 2014 – we immediately struck up a sound relationship and I must admit the chemistry was mutual. I found Bro ‘Ponny’ to be very passionate about the beautiful game of football and a man of enormous knowledge about the sport he loved so dearly.

 In today’s edition of your favourite weekly feature on sport icons, Tales of the Legends, New Era Sport pays a fitting tribute to probably Namibia’s finest and most decorated footballer of all time, the departed Boston Muyambango Likando.

Born in the remote Isala village in the Malindi area, Zambezi region and raised in the then Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Zambia, respectively, the full story of former Kabwe United and City of Lusaka FC lethal goal-poacher, Boston Likando, aka ‘Ponny’ Muyambango, in football circles in his adopted Zambia, cannot be described in any words other than unique.

Boston was the elder son of a migrant miner-turned-police officer, Muyambango Likando, who hurriedly left his native land in search of greener pastures elsewhere, crossing the dangerous Zambezi river during the height of apartheid in 1953. 

Little did the tallish ebony-skinned boy know that he would become the toast of many football-crazy fans and adoring teammates on foreign soil. His old man got fed up with the constant lack of employment opportunities in his native land and resolved to take the bull by the horns, crossing the hugely ‘croc infested’ Zambezi river into Rhodesia. 

The entire Likando family sought to start afresh in the unknown territory, in the process putting their lives at risk as they manoeuvred their way through the unwanted attention of dangerous crocodiles and attack-minded hippos to reach their destination in the promised land of milk and honey.

Boston Likando arrived in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) with his family as an unknown barefoot 5-year-old boy in 1953 and started his primary schooling in the southern African country, where his old man, Muyambango senior, found himself a job at the Wankie coal mine. After three years in Rhodesia, the family developed itchy feet and relocated to Livingstone in neighbouring Zambia where Muyambango senior worked as a police officer in the police unit. 

In 1961, Boston started playing competitive football at the Zambezi Sawmills Primary School at the fairly advanced age (football-wise) of 14, but it did not take the left-footed lanky boy from the then Caprivi region long to establish himself as a feared forward. He became a much sought-after commodity. 

“I found myself in the company of football greats, Jan Simelambo and Lohnsom Mkatiwa. The pair encouraged me to take football seriously and recommended that I should be promoted to the school’s first team,” revealed Boston during an exclusive interview with the author in his native Katima Mulilo in 2014. 

His next stop was the Canious Secondary School where he met Wenzi Kaunda (President Kenneth Kaunda’s 2nd born son). The pair went on to form a telepathic partnership terrorizing opposition defences with unbelievable inter-play, much to the delight of football followers. 

“Wenzi and I had a very good understanding and also went to play together in the school’s senior football team for a very long time.” The Zambians leaned heavily on Boston’s amazing goal-scoring prowess and it came as no surprise when the Namibian-born striker was selected to represent the Southern Province Schools football team in his adopted country in a provincial tournament. 

Between 1976 and 1979, ‘Ponny’ signed his first professional contract when he was snapped up by Zambian leading club Kabwe United playing against the late Brave Warriors mentor, Ben Bamfuchile, who was then playing for Nkana Red Devils.

His impressive performance earned him a well-deserved call-up to the national schools football team where he would rub shoulders with the likes of Boniface Simitowe, Richard Stevenson, Patrick Phiri and Jibby Zulu among the crème de la crème of local youngsters.

“We used to compete in several international friendlies against Malawi, Tanzania and a few visiting youth teams from Europe such as Nottingham Forest, Ipswich, Glasgow Celtic and Rangers.” Soon afterwards, Boston joined leading football club City of Lusaka.

The Namibian-born goal poacher quickly settled into the team’s playing style and became the toast of the football-crazy supporters who re-baptized him ‘Ponny’ because of his amazing speed which reminded them of a horse.

And even though his old man Muyambango retired in 1985 and returned to his native land, ‘Ponny’ remained behind in his adopted land where he continued to torment defenders before he finally hung up his football boots and retreated to his motherland in 1989.

Upon his coming home, the former City of Lusaka net buster did however not rest on his laurels and knuckled down to some serious business. He took aspiring young footballers through the ropes, teaching them the finer techniques in modern football. 

Despite getting a bit long in the tooth to showcase his natural ball skills on the football pitch in competitive structures on home soil, the Namibia Football Association (NFA) got wind of his presence in the land of the brave and roped in ‘Ponny’ as regional development coach.

Unlike many former footballers, who have developed a nasty habit of disappearing into obscurity upon retirement from the game that made them household names, ‘Ponny’ had done a lot of good work for the overall development of football in the Zambezi region since his return from exile.

He was involved in setting up development structures for women and youth football and rewrote the history books when he was the oldest mentor leading the exciting Zambezi Invitational Youth outfit at the annual The Namibian Newspaper Youth Cup since its inaugural edition until 2010. 

‘Ponny’ might not have been able to demonstrate his god-given football natural ball skills and goal-scoring ability on home soil, but he has surely left a huge mark in his adopted country, Zambia. The fast-galloping ‘Ponny’ will be remembered as arguably one of the most talented and accomplished footballers of his generation. 

Thankfully, his remarkable exploits did not go unnoticed as he was finally handsomely rewarded for his football exploits with the highest honour in domestic sport, the Sport Achiever accolade by the National Sports Commission (NSC) during the annual sports awards in 2014.   

Apart from the departed ‘Ponny’, the often forgotten Zambezi region has unearthed phenomenal footballers with Given Numwa, Agenda “Magents” Matongo, Kayo Munyaza and in recent years Ryan Simasiku Nyambe leading the pack.