The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
CASTLE Lager Premier League newboys, GreenFuel FC and Shaesham will battle it out for maximum points tomorrow at GreenFuel Sports Arena in the FIRST EVER domestic top-flight league match to be played in Chipinge District.
Chipinge has produced a number of football stars who have earned respect and admiration across the country, among them Eddie Dube, Philip Marufu and Lovemore Maphuya, but the best that clubs based in this district have achieved since independence was being part of the Eastern Region Division One League.
Indeed, tomorrow folks in rural Chisumbanje in the Lowveld area of Chipinge South constituency, as well as other parts of the district, will finally watch topflight league at their doorstep following the approval of GreenFuel FC Sports Arena to host Premiership matches.
In its MatchDay 22 fixtures released this week, Premier Soccer League indicated that the match pitting GreenFuel FC and Shaesham FC, set for Saturday, will be played at the GreenFuel Sports Arena.
This makes the match venue the only facility suitable to host Premiership matches in Manicaland.
Bigger and more urban parts of Manicaland such as the provincial capital of Mutare’s Sakubva Stadium as well as Rusape’s Vengere Stadium, which used to periodically host PSL matches, are both not fit for use, at least according to the PSL standards.
GreenFuel chairman, Fred Moyo
The state of other match venues in Manicaland such as the neglected Gaza Stadium in Chipinge are far from hosting PSL matches, while in Nyanga, their country club football ground does not even have a perimeter fence.
GreenFuel FC chairperson, Fred Moyo, heartily thanked GreenFuel company directors for their dedication to see the facility being developed to meet acceptable PSL standards.
“I really want to thank our sponsors, GreenFuel company, through our directors, Billy and Conrad Rautenbach, for their commitment to this project to where we are today. This is something that is being done for the love of the people of Chisumbanje and surrounding communities.
“The development agenda, though sport, is crystal clear for all to see. This will culminate into talent identification and development from this remote part of the country. In fact, homologation came at the right time of the season as the 12th player is now critical at this stage,” Moyo said.
In a separate interview, GreenFuel FC spokesperson, Merit Rumema, weighed in and said the community of Chisumbanje is excited with the latest development.
“As GreenFuel FC, we are super excited. We have been waiting for this for a long time and we are happy that it has come to fruition. We are looking forward to playing at home, and this will go a long way in easing the pressure on our players and budget in terms of having to travel week in week out,” Rumema said.
