BY MICHAEL KARIATI
THOSE who thought that exciting football in Zimbabwe went with the 80s and 90s will be forced to rethink after watching the style that is being turned on in the 2021 edition of the Chibuku Super Cup.
While comparisons cannot be drawn between the Peter Ndlovus and Moses Chungas of those days and the new generation of the Denver Mukambas, events on the ground tell us that the good old days are slowly coming back.
Goals are raining; individual skill aplenty, and above all, teams are playing an attractive short passing game that has brought on smiles, but sadly, no applause, as there are no fans in the stadiums.
Surely, 25 goals in nine matches are statistics every serious football nation should be proud of and one wonders what the goal count could have been had spectators been allowed into the stadiums to push their teams even further.
What is even heartening is that those 25 goals on the opening day were followed by another 19 over the same number of games, giving hope that we might have more goals and more players scoring than 20 goals this season.
Not forgetting the explosion between clubs, which has underlined the fact that the gap between the big and the smaller teams has narrowed — that is — if it still exists at all.
The scorelines : Caps United 2, Yadah 2: Dynamos 0, Herentals 0: Tenax 2 Manica Diamonds 1 : Triangle 1, Hwahwa 1: and Black Rhinos 0, Cranborne Bullets 0: tell the whole story.
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Even the stars too are making the nation feel good with a showing that reminds many of those good old days of Ndlovu, Chunga, Joel Shambo, Hamid Dhana, Edward Katswere, Archieford Chimutanda, and Stix Mtizwa.
Ngezi Platinum Stars’ Mukamba in particular has been the most brilliant, reproducing that old Mtizwa touch that was last seen in the stadiums long back in the 80s and 90s.
Mukamba has been a shining beacon for the Mashonaland West platinum miners, igniting attacks whenever in possession and scoring great goals himself.
This is of course not forgetting Rodwell Chinyengetere, who won the Castle Soccer Star of the Year Award in 2017 and 2018. The FC Platinum striker led the way on the opening day with three goals as his side thumped Hwahwa 6-0.
He followed this up with another goal in the 2-1 win over Triangle to give himself four goals in two matches, an average of two goals in 90 minutes.
There are so many others — like Ngezi wonder kid Bruno Mtigo — who are turning on the style much to the enchantment of football followers, who are watching the matches live on television from their homes due to Covid-19 protocols.
The organisation of the Chibuku Super Cup itself has also been superb with no glitches in between even in these times of Covid-19. The Premier Soccer League needs to maintain that orderliness for the pressure that lies ahead.
What we have seen, however, is just an appetiser as more good and exciting times have been promised as the Chibuku Super Cup rolls towards its climax before the Premiership competition itself rolls into life.
More on the credit side is that Delta Beverages have played their part in keeping football alive by bankrolling this Chibuku Super Cup and later on the league championship.
What, however, is needed is a bit more financial injection in addition to what is coming from Delta to keep our best players at home and also maintain the high standard of football so far displayed.
It cannot be denied that our football has suffered over the years as our top players left for foreign lands complaining that our game is not paying that much.
This cannot be disputed and that area of financial rewards needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency if we are to keep our best in the PSL rather than see them leave for, of all leagues, the Zambian premiership.
We are failing to compete strongly in the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup because our clubs are being weakened by player departures just before Pan-African club football kicks off.
One former football star jokingly suggested that Zimbabwe should probably introduce a minimum wage for footballers so that they at least have reasonable earnings and those clubs, which cannot afford should be kicked out.
Surely, we should not lose sight of the fact that our players have families, who depend on them for survival and their financial concerns should be a cause for worry for everyone involved with the game.
On that premise, the football family is appealing to the corporate world to come on board and compliment what is already there, either as sponsors of knock-out tournaments or of individual clubs.
Perhaps in that way, we will be able to hang on to the best players we have and at the same time still be able to attract the best from around the region and other African countries.
There was a time when the region’s top players flocked to Zimbabwe. Remember Derby Makinka, Francis Kasanda, Sandros Kumwenda, Laughter Chilembe, Kelvin Kaindu and of course, Joseph Kamwendo, the Malawian who won the Zimbabwe Soccer Star of the Year Award in 2005.
All these players, and those from other African countries were attracted to this country not only by the high standards of our football then, but also by the huge financial incentives which were on offer.
That is what is not there right now and the appeal is on the likes of Econet, CBZ, OK Zimbabwe, Doves, BancABC, Pick n’ Pay, Nyaradzo, and others, to come on board and give our football the financial lift it desperately needs.
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