Online Reporter
Tinashe Mukono-Zimpapers Sports Hub
A YEAR after Kwekwe United lost their place in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), they must now measure themselves against the club that replaced them as the city’s leading football side.
The draw for the Munhumutapa Challenge Cup has paired Kwekwe United with Hardrock in the Round of 32, setting up a Midlands Derby at Baghdad Stadium over the weekend of August 7-9.
It is a meeting that will show how sharply the balance of football power has shifted in Kwekwe.
Twelve months ago, Hardrock were celebrating promotion after conquering the Central Region Soccer League (CRSL), while Kwekwe United were enduring a disastrous maiden PSL campaign.
The two clubs had emerged from the same division, but their fortunes could hardly have been more different.
As Hardrock prepared for life among the elite, Kwekwe United were battling player unrest, strikes over salaries and administrative uncertainty.
The away-from-the-pitch problems soon affected results and the club were relegated with six matches still to play.
Hardrock have since achieved what their city rivals could not.
The Kasongo Boys have settled quickly in the PSL and established themselves as genuine championship contenders in their first season.
Kwekwe United, meanwhile, have spent the year rebuilding.
A change in leadership brought fresh direction, corporate backing and an ambitious recruitment drive that reshaped the squad.
The progress is reflected in the CRSL title race, where Kwekwe United are competing with Blanket Mine and Chapungu for promotion.
Their revival has also been visible in the stands. Supporters who watched the club unravel last season have begun returning to Baghdad Stadium and filling the terraces again.
The cup tie now gives Kwekwe United an opportunity to show how much has changed against the club that inherited their place at the top of the city’s football order.
Club president Bridgette Mudhosi would have preferred the Kwekwe sides to avoid each other, although the draw guarantees the city at least one representative in the last 16.
“I would have loved to play any other team so that Kwekwe would have a representative, but unfortunately this is what we have,” she said.
“It’s going to be a derby in the Round of 32, meaning that we will have at least one representative from Kwekwe in the Round of 16.
“When two sides meet, one power has to bow, and hopefully it will not be my team.”
Her optimism extends beyond the cup competition.
Despite the tight promotion race in the Central Region, Mudhosi believes the club’s recruitment and rebuilding have given Kwekwe United reason to believe they can return to the PSL.
“The competition is very tough. We have teams that are also hoping to punch their ticket for promotion,” she said.
“We did a lot of astute business and we believe our team can challenge for honours.
“The first step in showing what we are really made of will be against Hardrock. Whatever the result, we are confident we will produce a performance that puts things into perspective.”
That perspective is exactly what the derby offers.
One match cannot erase the salary disputes, administrative problems and relegation that defined Kwekwe United’s previous campaign.
It can, however, provide the clearest indication yet that the club has moved beyond them.
Kwekwe United have had to rebuild their squad and restore the trust of players, sponsors and supporters.
Now, they must face the team that succeeded where they failed.
Hardrock will arrive as Kwekwe’s new football standard-bearers. Kwekwe United will enter Baghdad Stadium seeking to prove that their revival is real.
