THE recent spectacle at State House, where President Emmerson Mnangagwa personally gifted brand-new Ford Ranger vehicles to Dynamos captain Emmanuel Jalai and Herentals Queens captain Tabeth Mutinhiri — along with similar recognition for other captains like Sikandar Raza and Walter Musona — is, on the surface, a commendable effort to celebrate sporting excellence.
However, this method of singular, high-value reward raises serious questions about fairness, teamwork recognition and the potential for political exploitation within Zimbabwean sport.
While we celebrate the leadership of Jalai and Mutinhiri, the success they were rewarded for — a Chibuku Super Cup triumph and a fourth consecutive league title, respectively—was a collective effort.
Football, by its very nature, is a team sport.
A captain is a figurehead, an on-field motivator, but the trophy belongs to the entire squad, the coaching staff and the support personnel.
Rewarding only the captain, even with an "extra" incentive, fundamentally devalues the contribution of the other 20-plus players who sweated, bled and executed the game plan.
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It creates an unnecessary hierarchy of merit, suggesting that the captain's role is more valuable than that of the match-winning striker, the steadfast defender or the reliable goalkeeper.
Case in point, Dynamos won four penalty shootouts on their way to the Chibuku Cup triumph, meaning goalkeeper Tatenda Makoni was the hero in all those games.
It is better to reward the whole team — perhaps with a significant collective bonus or smaller, equitable gifts — and then offer a modest, separate honour to the captain for their leadership.
Furthermore, the justification cited for Jalai's award — guiding Dynamos to a third consecutive Chibuku Cup — is historically inaccurate. While he is the current leader, the team's record over the past three tournaments involved other captains.
This singular focus erases the legacy of past leaders and reduces a multi-year achievement to the credit of one man.
The timing and nature of these gifts suggest a distressing pattern: the use of athletes as political props. The lavish presentation of cars — a high-visibility, easily quantifiable "trinket" — risks putting these sports stars in a morally compromised position.
It is difficult for an athlete to receive such a substantial gift and then feel morally free to oppose any future political agenda, such as the widely discussed push to extend the President's tenure beyond the constitutional limit of 2028.
True governmental support for sport shouldn't come in the form of selective, luxurious personal gifts.
The energy and resources currently being spent on these ceremonial handovers should be redirected towards addressing the core crises facing Zimbabwean sport: infrastructural development.
Our national football teams are currently forced to play their "home" matches in foreign countries because the major facilities, such as the National Sports Stadium, are obsolete thus do not meet Confederation of African Football standards.
This is where the President and the government should focus their energy and resources.
An investment in modern, compliant sporting infrastructure benefits all athletes, all clubs and the entire nation, instead of just a handful of captains.
It creates a sustainable ecosystem for success, rather than a fleeting moment of personalised glory.
While rewarding deserving players is commendable, the focus must shift from political theatre and selective individual reward to equitable team recognition and, most crucially, sustainable investment in the foundations of our national sport.