St Paul’s Musami revival on track

Don Makanyanga

A YEAR after they announced their revival, St Paul’s Musami believe they are now in a prime position to challenge for promotion into the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.

St Paul’s hogged the limelight in 1966, becoming the last top-flight club from outside Harare and Bulawayo to win the championship in the then Rhodesia football Super League.

Last year, the side that gave the likes of Jawett Nechironga, Felix Mbidzo, George Shaya and James Nxumalo a platform to launch their glittering careers, rose from the ashes like a phoenix.

Four years after their success story, St Paul’s then closed shop and became defunct.

But they had an enduring history that spanned 51 years before Norman Mapeza’s FC Platinum became the next team from outside Harare and Bulawayo to claim top-flight league championship title.

St Paul’s are from the Musami area in rural Murewa in the Mashonaland East province.

Resultantly, they will be playing the Division One game in the Eastern Region Soccer League (ERSL).

Businessman Timothy Gowo, who has been championing their revival mission is upbeat they will emulate the great squad of 1966. He said all was in place for the reincarnation of the club.

“A sleeping giant in Zimbabwe football will be bouncing back in the local football arena this year,” said Gowo.

They have a charismatic figure within their ranks who could feature in some of their games — ex-Warriors and CAPS United goalkeeper Edmore “ZiKeeper’’ Sibanda.

Sibanda has been registered as a player-assistant coach.

Gowo, who was born and bred in Murewa, might have been young when St Paul’s touched the heavens, but the club’s rich history is not lost on him.

“This is a club with a lot of history, among them being the first club outside Harare and Bulawayo to win the Championship, a record that it held for more than 50 years.

“It is with great pleasure that we announce that St Paul’s Musami successfully affiliated with the ZIFA Eastern Region Soccer League for the 2024 season,” Gowo said.

According to Gowo, St Paul’s Musami will be using the St Paul’s High School ground for their home matches, which is where the club was born in 1960.

He added that the revival of St Paul’s Musami is great news for the preservation of history for the club.

Gowo revealed that they had since partnered with a local company, Atticus Private Limited, to refurbish the stadium, which had suffered from several years of neglect.

“We are also happy to have Atticus Private Limited led by Andrew Becker coming on board to help us refurbish the stadium.

“We are confident and optimistic that by the time the league starts, all the work will have been concluded,” noted Gowo.

Work on the ground has already commenced with the installation of a new playing turf, construction of dressing rooms and erection of a perimeter fence being the top priority.

Atticus chief operations officer Nigel Chimbwanda said they felt honoured to be part of the revival of St Paul’s.

“St Paul’s Musami is one of the giants in the history of football in Zimbabwe and we are pleased to be associated with its revival.

“As a company that is into the construction of modern technology, with projects in particular sports arenas, we felt obligated to play our part by being involved in the refurbishment of the St Paul’s Musami home ground to standards that meet requirements,” said Chimbwanda.

Chimbwanda also revealed that they were planning to roll out projects in Murewa to help in the sustenance of the club.

“We know that football is expensive to run and as business people, we will provide funds for income-generating projects so that the club can be self-sustaining and not rely much on donors to keep them running,” added Chimbwanda.

St Paul’s will, according to Gowo, seek to give a platform to the rural players to launch their careers.

“As a home to some of the best footballers to ever come out of the country, we are biased at giving opportunities to the rural child, especially those from Murewa.

“We have since held tournaments in Murewa and players who will be part of the team have already been identified and we are continuing with the scouting process.

“We need to unearth another generation of football stars,” said Gowo.