The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MUTARE League Pool (MPL) reigning champions, Shoverland, were a good advert of the standards of the game in Manicaland after they came within one match of clinching the National Champions League tournament played in Chinhoyi last weekend.
The Itai Chiratidzo-bankrolled outfit settled for second position in a tightly contested competition that brought together the crème de la crème of Zimbabwe’s pool clubs.
Bulawayo’s Nkulumane were crowned the 2024 champions, while Harare’s Mega One came third. Stomers from Chinhoyi came third. From the onset of the competition, Shoverland were just in a no nonsense mood as they outplayed opponents such as Black Rhinos who were handed a humiliating 1-4 defeat in the early stages of this national competition.
Chiratidzo said: “It was a good experience to be part of this National Champions League competition. We enjoyed every moment of the contest. I really want to applaud my players for a convincing performance as well as the administration of the club ably led by chairman, Chris Munyuku.
“Though it was not easy, we played as a team, and we are delighted with the second position that we attained. We feel we did this for Mutare and Manicaland at large.”
Shoverland became the second club from Mutare to settle for that high position in national competitions after the Snipers Class of 2016 also came second in the same competition.
No Mutare based club has ever won the competition. MPL chairman, Peter Mkwananzi, commended Shoverland for their brilliant display.
“No doubt, they played very well and made us proud as a league as well as a province. This is living testimony of the rising standards of the game in Mutare and Manicaland at large.
“We hope to build on that achievement and make sure that we dominate future national pool tournaments. We have the capacity to achieve that, and we only need to engage in more competitions as well as getting more organised as a league,” he said.
