For Eddie Mukahanana, the path through soccer has never been a straight line.
“Football takes you so many different places that you don’t usually expect,” he says.
Zimbabwe. California. Russia. Victoria.
That’s the journey that eventually led him to Vancouver Island, where he’s been coaching since 2000. Six years ago, he launched Westcastle International Academy.
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If you’ve spent any time on the sidelines of local soccer pitches, you’ve likely seen the name. And maybe the man behind it.
Westcastle is rooted in community and fun, but it’s also about something bigger: creating a real pathway for Vancouver Island athletes to reach the next level.
“More competitive opportunities and more opportunities to play at the highest level,” Mukahanana says.
For some, that means college. For others, university. For a select few, maybe even the pros.
Mukahanana insists talent is everywhere. It just needs the right eyes.
“Talent is everywhere. What we need is to find it and nurture it and develop it.”
You don’t need trained eyes to see the ability in Eni Rotimi.
The 18-year-old British-Nigerian prospect joined Westcastle last year when the program was training in Sweden. He’s spending the winter in Victoria, sharpening his game under Mukahanana’s guidance.
“He knows when to give you an arm around the shoulder,” Rotimi says, “but then also when you need to improve in certain areas.”
Mukahanana’s belief in development stretches far beyond Vancouver Island.
CHEK News last featured him in 2012, when he was coaching the Vancouver Island Wave girls program — while collecting donated cleats and soccer balls to send back home to Zimbabwe. Small contributions added up. And eventually, so did the results.
“We sent two players to the English Premier League,” he says.
His grassroots efforts recently earned national recognition from Canada Soccer, which highlighted his story on social media as part of Black History Month.
“You gotta be proud of that,” we ask.
“Yes, I am,” he says. “But there’s still so much more to achieve.”
Executive director Alexia Eiley says that mindset is exactly what sets him apart.
“He doesn’t care about being that pro coach or that pro player. He cares about being that coach that got that player going and helped develop that foundation so that he could be successful.”
National attention is nice.
“We must be doing something good,” Mukahanana says with a smile.
From raw potential to can’t-miss prospect, from donated cleats to Premier League dreams, the lines may not be straight.
But for the players chasing them, the path is there.