Andrew
Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter
THE English Premiership, by far the world’s most popular football league, returns tomorrow after a 43-day World Cup-induced sabbatical, but it is not certain whether Zimbabwean midfielder Marvelous Nakamba will return to the starting line-up for Aston Villa, who host Liverpool.
Nakamba’s future has been a subject of speculation for the better part of 2022, and Villa coach Unai Emery might have ignited more debate with his statements during the club’s press conference on Friday.
“I am so happy with the players we have, but someone could leave and someone could I think can add to help us.
“We are working, we are moving in the direction to try to really add someone or add players who could help us improve our performance,” Emery was quoted by the Birmingham Mail.
So, the month of January could be critical for Nakamba, who once again played a cameo role when Villa beat Chelsea 1-0 in a friendly match in Abu Dhabi on December 11.
In a contrasting fashion, Nakamba’s Warriors teammate Jordan Zemura should secure his stay at Bournemouth inside the next few months.
The 23-year-old’s contract with Cherries expires at the end of the season but it is highly likely the Zimbabwean full-back will be retained.
Zemura has put on some polished performances since making his Premiership debut against Villa on August 6.
He is expected to start for Bournemouth, who face Chelsea on Tuesday, after playing 90 minutes when the Cherries were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle United last Tuesday.
Zemura started on a high as he also made his bow at the Africa Cup of Nations for Zimbabwe in January.
He came on as a second-half substitute when the Warriors lost 1-2 against Malawi in their second group match.
Zemura then started for Zimbabwe, who beat Guinea 2-1 in their last match on January 18. The return of the EPL programme with a bumper Boxing Day programme tomorrow also means it is a working Christmas for both Nakamba and Zemura.
As the domestic game remains on a break – with players, coaches and administrators also joining the rest of the country in the various festive season activities – they will be happy that football showed that it is very much alive, especially in the lower division leagues and academies.
The Northern Region Soccer League stood out in 2022, attracting some decent crowds, while also exhibiting a host of exciting matches across towns and cities in its zone.
While the Premier Soccer League (PSL) battled to reconnect with its fans, the Northern Region League attracted huge crowds at their matches. In the end of a riveting title race involving Simba Bhora, Herentals U-20 and Golden Eagles, the former were crowned champions and now intend to bring top-flight football to the mining town of Shamva.
Renovations have begun at Wadzanai Stadium. The only sad news in the Northern Region was the passing away of Simba Bhora midfielder Barnabas Mushunje. Mushunje died in a car accident in June.
He was, however, honoured posthumously as he claimed the Axis Solutions Cup’s Player of the Tournament award.
The Axis Solutions Cup final was staged at Rufaro — the ceremonial home of football — amid pomp and fanfare.
But the Mbare venue cannot host PSL matches, as it does not meet the standards.
Rufaro is also still a long shot to being refurbished after the collapse of the deal in which Sakunda Holdings had proposed to pay for the renovation of the stadium.
There was also some vibe in the Eastern Region, where Lloyd Mutasa’s Green Fuel won the championship, becoming the first team from Chisumbanje to get promotion into the PSL.
Sheasham won the Central Region title, while Hwange returned to the Premiership after clinching the title in the Southern Region.
Although the top-flight struggled to reconnect with its fans, it was an equally riveting season that saw the relegation puzzle only solved in the penultimate week.
Eventually, WhaWha, Tenax, Bulawayo City and Harare City were relegated.
FC Platinum won a fourth straight league title, to join Dynamos and Highlanders in the elite group of the only PSL teams to have secured four championships in a row.
Their coach, Norman Mapeza, was crowned Coach of the Year at a colourful banquet on December 2, the same night FC Platinum forward Walter Musona finally emerged from his brother Knowledge’s shadows to win the Soccer Star of the Year award.
Musona’s teammate Gift Bello won a record-equalling seventh championship medal to match Devon Chafa.
Bulawayo Chiefs wrote their own piece of sweet history when they landed the Chibuku Super Cup after defeating Herentals in front of a packed Barbourfields on November 19.
Bulawayo fans once again proved their passion for the game, as they thronged Emagumeni to witness a historical final that featured teams that were both promoted into the top flight in 2018.
The Herentals duo of Innocent and Tino Benza made history when they became the first father and son to play in a major Cup final.
Elsewhere, trendsetting coach Kalisto Pasuwa continued to be a standard bearer in Malawi after winning his fourth straight championship with Nyasa Big Bullets.
He has now won four straight championships each with Dynamos and Nyasa Big Bullets and, as he headed for Christmas, Pasuwa reflected on the titles and still reminisces on his first triumph with DeMbare in 2011.
“The feeling is always the same when you win but I guess the first one is always the sweetest, as they say, ‘the first cut is the deepest’. The one that comes to mind will be the 2014 one against ZPC Kariba, when the trophy was being flown between Gwanzura and the National Sports Stadium.
“In Malawi, it has to be the 2019 one, which was closely contested between us and our bitter rivals Wanderers,’’ Pasuwa said.
Ironically, Wanderers denied him an unprecedented quadruple in Malawi, when they edged Nyasa Big Bullets 5-4 on penalties in the Airtel Cup last Saturday.
There was another silver lining in women’s football, which returned in full force after a Covid-19-induced hiatus.
Women football leaders and clubs should be commended for resuscitating the game, after years of neglect by ZIFA and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Herentals Queens emerged and dethroned Black Rhinos Queens in the Super League, which has perennially been dominated by uniformed forces teams.
The return of Mufakose Queens in the Northern Region Division League also spiced up the year, while Bulawayo Chiefs also emerged in the Southern Region Division One League where they ended the season without a defeat.
■ Twitter: @LangtonGuraz
Tinaye Agere
Online Reporter