Former CAPS United coach Charles Mhlauri says the club could have dominated local football for a long time if it had continued what he had built during his time there.

The gaffer first joined the Green Machine in 2002 as an assistant coach before taking over the reins and went on to win two League Championships in 2004 and 2005.

During his spell at the helm, he set up a developmental initiative which he believes could have brought the Harare giants a long-term success.

In his article in the Herald newspaper, Mhlauri said: “Our (Caps United) Academy team, during their initiation, held a full-strength Dynamos team at the National Sports Stadium and went on to embarrass some top teams in Cup games.

“My focus was on their gradual integration into the first team and, to support my point, they went on to play for the national team, the likes of Lionel Mutizwa, Oscar Machapa and Washington Pakamisa.

“I had all hands on deck with the Academy, was not looking outside that project, remember, when I took over, I started by creating long-term structures and developmental programmes for the club and established the CAPS Academy.

“That concept guarantees long-term success and I avoided the trap of trying to create a good team and went for building a good club.”

CAPS United struggled in the following years after Mhlauri left the head coach role in 2006 to take a full-time position with the national team and the club had to wait until 2016 to win their next league title.