The Sunday Mail
Arthur Choga
TOP level football in Zimbabwe has largely been a corporate sport.
That may sound unusual for a sport that is almost always crying out for corporate sponsorship.
The truth is that corporates have largely been the driving force behind the top leagues in the country.
A look at the local league will show that it reads like a business league, with company names dominating.
Among the notable examples are Platinum mine (two of them), Chicken Inn, Hwange Colliery, Herentals College, Harare City, Black Rhinos (Zimbabwe National Army).
Corporates look for ways to entertain their staff and get their brands known and accepted, largely within the black communities, where football is the major sport.
Community teams, with no defined owners have also traditionally been a major fixture in the league, with the best-known being Dynamos and Highlanders.
Arcadia United were also in this category.
Today, we pay attention and tribute to individuals who have formed and run teams, as these people have touched lives and changed communities.
Lovemore Gijima Msindo brought a sense of joy to the League with the Chitungwiza-based Fire Batteries project, which won promotion into the then Super League in 1993.
They were a founder club of the Premier Soccer League project, and their theme song, Bunny Wailer’s “Love Fire”, gave them a pulsating identity.
Legends like John Nyamasoka, who took his beloved Rufaro Rovers all the way into the Premier League and kept it there for seasons, brought us such talents as the late Butler Masango to the fore. Francis Zimunya, with his Zim Crackers project, also took centre stage. In 1995, Blackpool FC — formed from the ashes of police side Black Mambas by a group of ambitious businessmen led by Ronnie Chihota, Gorden Chademunhu, Joe Salifu, Joe Musenda, Lecture Mpange, Ginger Chinguwa, Forbes Chitava and Ben Muchedzi — came within touching distance of the League title.
In their red, black and white kits — which were sometimes opened on the pitch — Blackpool were a sign of what football could be.
The Blackpool franchise was eventually sold to Eric and Liz Rosen, who renamed it Motor Action.
Motor Action took the title in 2010.
Delma Lupepe owned Amazulu FC, which brought a sense of class to the league and ultimately won it in 2003.
Monomotapa FC, owned by Solomon Mugavazi and partners, won the league in 2008, and was coached by Norman Mapeza to their first League title.
Cuthbert Chitima and Sweeney Mushonga owned Gunners FC, which won the league in 2009. However, it is a shame that many of these clubs went under, and we will explore this in coming instalments.
Today, the likes of Simba Ndoro, who owns Shamva-based Simba Bhora FC, are making infrastructure and social improvements to their communities.
Sport can be a catalyst for the fight against drug abuse, and there is already a template in place that can be developed.
Each of these owners speaks fondly of their communities. Harare business executive and football lover Desmund Ali explains how he got into football.
“I grew up following football, my beloved CAPS United in particular.
“In Mabvuku, we had Portland Cement (Circle United), James North and Zimphos as the local teams and they, sadly, eventually folded,” he said, referencing clubs that were all owned by corporates.
He brings up the role the local authority used to play.
“I used to play junior football. We had junior leagues in Mabvuku/Tafara, and these were run by the Harare City Council, which used to provide equipment as well.
“Sadly, all that has disappeared,” he said.
Then, he took the all-important decision.
“For me, it was an opportunity to support the community that groomed me,” he went on to explain.
“I started Ali Sundowns Juniors in 2006, and our most memorable achievement was when we joined the ZIFA Division Three.
“We lost only once, and qualified for the CBZ FA CUP in 2008. There, we played CAPS United at Gwanzura and lost 2-0, which was not bad at all.
“Producing players for top leagues has been another milestone, and Marshall Munetsi stands out,” he says with pride.
Now, as a growing movement we touched on last week, Ali Sundowns also has a girls’ team.
“I was motivated by some of the parents, and the realisation that we had much talent in Mabvuku.
“We started in August last year, and played a number of friendlies with top league teams during which we gave a good account of ourselves.
“We then decided to join the newly formed Harare Province Division Two, this year.
“We could have gone for Division One, but felt we needed the experience to prove ourselves rather than buy a franchise.
“We are so sure we have a very good team. While the average age in the team is 15, we are ready to play anyone.
“We played Yadah last December, and lost one-nil in only our third game,” he said.
Ali Sundowns’ dream is mirrored by many of the great legends, who helped bring football to different spaces.
“We are a football factory, and our ambition is to send talented players, via scholarships, abroad and also to professional teams. We are also forming a local junior league for teams in Mabvuku, Tafara and Caledonia (that is a huge catchment area),” he said.
Imagine the effectiveness of anti-drug messaging and positive image building among youths in such environments.
Football — and the dedicated individuals who are spending their hard-earned money to keep it moving forward — may hold the key to a lot of positive developments in communities.
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