Moffat Mungazi’s FOOTY FOOTNOTES

MUTARE’S football fraternity is buzzing with buoyant expectancy of a football fiesta for the Premier Soccer League 2020 season, with the city’s ceremonial citadel of the game — Sakubva — set to play host to a historic derby.

Never before has Manicaland’s provincial capital been home to two teams from the metropolis participating in the top division concurrently. In 2009 this came close to being following Highway’s promotion and Eastern Lions staying up in the Premiership. Sadly the long-cherished dream, which many devotees of the game had tenderly nursed for eons, suffered an excruciating stillbirth after the latter sold their franchise to Bulawayo-based Bantu Rovers.

Fate would frown upon us, however, as Wega Unosekerera – Highway’s trade name to their adoring multitudes – were demoted at the end of that same season; extinguishing many’s fervent hopes of a Mutare team’s permanent residence in the league.

The closest scenario resembling a Premiership derby was the battle which played out between Buffaloes and their Manicaland cousins Dongo Sawmills at Vengere during the 2015 season but both fell by the wayside at the end of that campaign.

That would effectively see us wandering on the winding path into the wilderness where we would hitherto lumber into a slumber, only set to awaken and walk, or is it work, our way out of the woods. Enter Manica Diamonds and Tenax. An unprecedented feat this! That the pair is in the mix this term.

So much to suffice for a brief synopsis of the sad situation we have agonisingly been living for the past decade. But we are leaving that behind now, at least for the upcoming campaign.

Yet in the intervening period between then and now it has largely been a frustrating experience as some teams from elsewhere toyed with the idea of adopting Sakubva as their home ground, while others were actually domiciled at the venue during flirtations which never romantically connected with the constituency comprising local enthusiasts of the sport.

Such teams as Shooting Stars, Monomotapa and Motor Action fleetingly used Sakubva as their home but fans in these shores never took warmly to them and neither did they fully embrace them as one of their own. They could simply not emotively identify with                                                                                        them.

And to compound our misery, Sakubva was condemned as being out of place to host Premiership action by Zifa’s First Instance Body, which inspects suitability of football arenas; forcing Mutare-made teams to provisionally use Gibbo in Triangle and Rusape’s Vengere as was the case with the Gem Boys in 2019.

Similar qualms are abounding again this time around, with genuine fears that Tenax may pass up the opportunity to participate in the Premiership and Sakubva could not be ready by the time the championship marathon takes off next month.

The silver lining to this hovering dark cloud, however, is that the correctional services side, on one hand, have confirmed and reiterated their commitment to participate in the highest division while Mutare City Council, on the other, has promised completion of recommended renovations on the stadium and have it in ready shape for top-flight matches.

To their credit, Tenax have dismissed the rumour-fuelled speculation that they are disposing of their franchise while the local authority is laudably putting its shoulder to the wheel with work on the sports ground having long picked up pace and progressing smoothly.

To rub it in for the soccer-crazy fanatics in Mutare, a small town like Zvishavane has already had a taste of the Premiership derby as FC Platinum and Shabanie Mine slugged it out, while Gweru has witnessed intra-city rivalry between Chapungu and TelOne although the pleasure had been delayed following the earlier embargo on Ascot.

That said, can Sakubva be ready on time and avoid being blacklisted again? Will Manica Diamonds and Tenax show up, turn it on and not come short of staying power in the Premiership?

How much should other stakeholders be involved to ensure that these dreams turn into living reality?

If it is about football that you care let’s share the cheer because we are made for the game, mad about the game!

Feedback:

Soccer has become part of our lives that it has grown to being more than a just a sport now into a big industry.  It is, therefore, important that we get teams representing all provinces by nurturing rural talent. This is the best time to do so, particularly when the dominance of big guns like Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS United is being challenged by such teams as Manica Diamonds. — Richard Mahuhushe Chauke

 

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