HARARE - ZIMBABWEAN football has come of age as evidenced by weekend victories across the expansive African continent.
All three premiership clubs representing the country at Africa Club Championships did not let down the nation, but posted favourable results that put Zimbabwe on the map.
First it was unheralded Lengthens Football Club which held much fancied Madagascar club,AS Adema to a goalless draw at the Indian Oceanic nation while CAPS United thrashed Mbabane Highlanders of Swaziland 8-7 in Mbabane through penalties before the champions-Gunners massacred Mafunzo FC of Zanzibar 6-1 on aggregate.
The story was a complete different when heavily sponsored South African premiership giant, Orlando Pirates were booted out of the same African tournament by little known Botswana’s Gaborone United.
Gaborone United first held Pirates 0-0 in Botswana before forcing a 2-2 draw in Port Elizabeth, a good draw that worked in favour of the Batswana. The victory by Gaborone United over Orlando Pirates meant that the Batswana have progressed to the next stage of the Africa Club championships by an away goals rule.
But it is the Zimbabwean premiership teams that have continued to shock the world with their scintillating performance despite some poor economic performance. Four the past five years, clubs from Zimbabwe have progressed to as far as the finals, semi-finals and quarter-finals of the Africa’s Confederation African Football (CAF) championships, sometimes with no money for transport to fulfil away games.
“What we need to do as a nation is to start collecting trophies to prove how serious we are in these crucial tournaments,” said Emmanuel Mhungu shortly after the match at Rufaro Stadium.
Lizeka Ndiweni, told CAJ News in Johannesburg that she was proud to be a Zimbabwean despite some current socio-political challenges the country is going through.
“This past weekend was so good to Zimbabweans in all sporting disciplines. In cricket, our team won away from home while in football, we did things the Zimbabwean way,” Ndiweni.
South Africa’s ABSA premiership is the heavily bankrolled leagues in the continent but when it comes to competition at club level, they are always outplayed by other African clubs with Zimbabwe holding their own.
Post published in: Football