The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube
ZIFA Southern Region Soccer Stars of the Year awards sponsor Lodias Machache believes rewarding of talent should not only be restricted to the Premier Soccer League but should also cascade to the lower rungs of Zimbabwean football to encourage excellence in sport.
Machache, who is funding the awards through his Machache Meats Butchery brand, said it was imperative for sportspersons to be rewarded even if they were not playing in the top league, adding such recognition could urge them on to even do better.
Machache said he had to dig deeper into his pockets to ensure that there was motivation for players in the Zifa Southern Division One League, despite the depressed economic environment.
“I love football and would do my best to ensure that it is played in the right environment. As you are aware this is not the first time that we are funding football as we were behind the Machache Meats tournament before. But due to the depressed business environment, we had to look at another area that we could fund and would not demand much in terms of money.
“However, this does not belittle the integrity of the awards and I feel being named in the top 11 in the Southern Region League is due recognition for most players,” said Machache, adding that it was critical to avail incentives to players as they built their careers and sought more opportunities beyond Division One.
The 11 top players, who were selected by the league’s captains and coaches, will see one player emerging as the soccer star of the Year. The Coach of the Year and the top goal scorer will also be given monetary rewards.
A calendar featuring the 11 players, whose names were disclosed by the Zifa Southern Region chairman Musa Mandaza on Tuesday, will also be availed.
Tsholotsho FC top scorer Edmore Chirambadare leads the list that also features Black Boots’ Simon Njeleza, Gift Mbweti and Kelvin Nyoni, both of Technosphere; Chang Mariyone of Tsholotsho also features in the list along with Trumus’ Brian Chikwenya.
Kudakwashe Kundishora (Plumtree Chiefs), Wellington Chipendo (Mpumalanga), Fidelis Dube (Ntabazinduna), Webster Kondowe (New West) and Desire Shumbanhete (ZPC Hwange) complete this year’s top 11.
“Football is a career, where players feed their families through what they earn on the pitch and rewarding them justly assists them financially and also boosts their confidence to do better.
“I believe talent should not be neglected but given its due reward. While some are doctors and engineers, we have footballers entertaining people with their God-given talent, that gift from God should be nurtured and allowed to grow to its fullest,” said Machache.
“The players who feature on the calendar can also use their selection as a launch pad for their careers to higher leagues. The calendar will also play a crucial role in marketing the players and maybe people might start giving due recognition to Division One football.”
The best player in Division One will walk away with $300 with the first runner up getting $150 and third placed player taking home $100. The rest of the runners up will pocket $50 each while the coach of the year will smile all the way to the bank with $250. The player who banged in the most goals will be rewarded with $300.
Mandaza said their hope was that the awards would give exposure to the players in their league.
“We believe the calendar will expose our players to other people outside the region. This region is home to talents such as Peter Ndlovu and Benjani Mwaruwari and we believe there are a lot of other talented players that can be unearthed,” he said.
The date of the unveiling of the soccer stars will be announced in due course.
Mandaza congratulated Tsholotsho FC on winning promotion to the Premier Soccer League, saying it was a historic moment that a team based in a rural set up will be playing against the country’s best football teams.
He said the fruits of creating four football regions were now coming to the fore with teams in the PSL now coming from all over the country instead of the main urban centres, Bulawayo and Harare only dominating the top flight league.
Mandaza was at the forefront of spearheading the creation of the Central Region that led to four teams being promoted into the PSL on a yearly basis and from all over the country.
“Who would have thought one day Tsholotsho would have a team in the PSL? Football is now evenly spread across the country. We have teams in Kariba, Triangle, Mutare, Gweru, Zvishavane and Hwange which will ensure that every Zimbabwean gets a fair share of the beautiful game and not just those domiciled in urban areas.
“Now if Tsholotsho manages to build a stadium there we are going to have PSL action in a rural area,” he said.
