The ManicaPost
SINCE last term, it has been bubbling under as Manica Diamonds were competing in the top-flight league, while Tenax battled for promotion from the Eastern Region Division One.
With the Gem Boys preserving their Premiership status and Chauya Chikara earning elevation among the elite of the local game, the eagerly-anticipated Mutare Derby is upon us.
Cross town rivals, Manica Diamonds and Tenax’s battle for supremacy, earmarked to play out at Sakubva when sporting activity eventually resumes following the pause prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic which has ravaged the world, is already setting pulses racing.
And tucked away in the solitude of their sanctuaries in compliance with the lockdown order meant to curb the disease, football followers in the city and around the province cannot help drooling and musing over the prospects of the first ever instalment of the potentially explosive contest.
It has been keenly awaited with fervent relish.
That Tenax have been green-lighted for Premier Soccer League membership after finally settling their full affiliation fees completes the cast of protagonists for this act.
That refurbishments on Sakubva, which is set to provide a perfect scene, are well on course sets the stage for this pioneering episode.
This has been a long time coming and Manicaland’s soccer-obsessed followers of the game are salivating for a taste of this oft-craved clash which is sweetened by the contestants’ geographical proximity.
It is such a historic and momentous occasion never witnessed before that during its subsistence headlining acts and show-stopping moments are expected.
While the Harare Derby pitting Dynamos and CAPS United may be the standard-bearer and the Battle of Zimbabwe between DeMbare and Bosso is the country’s flagship fixture, ours can also hit the same heights if it lingers longer on the domestic football calendar.
After all, Mutare was the only among the major cities yet to host a local derby at the highest level of association football; a scenario that had already been witnessed in Bulawayo, Gweru and even Zvishavane.
As such, it can only be prudent to borrow from the Good Book’s scripture that: “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalms Chapter 118, Verse 24).
The onus is now on us as fans to play our bit part and render support to what is going to be easily the pick of the fixtures for Mutare by going out in our droves to embrace it.
This will make a statement that the derby has been a long-nursed and deeply-cherished dream.
Manicaland with its scintillating tourist attractions should also brace for a boom in business driven by the influx of multitudes keen to be part of one of Mutare’s finest football moments.
It may sound make-believe for others, but a great sporting spectacle is in the offing on these shores.
Throw into the mix the bragging rights at stake among the intra-city adversaries and it whets the expectancy of many enthusiasts of the game on how much this Mutare-made duel will put our game on the national map.
That said, in whose colours shall the city be painted — the gold and black of Manica Diamonds or the yellow and green of Tenax during the Mutare Derby?
If it is about football that you care let’s share the cheer because we are made for the game and mad about the game!
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