Online Reporter
Onward Gangata
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title race suddenly feels familiar again.
Dynamos are second, CAPS United have gone top and look sharp, and Highlanders, even without goals flowing, are refusing to lose. For the first time in years, Zimbabwe’s biggest clubs are not reacting to the league, they are beginning to shape it.
That shift has been a long time coming.
CAPS United lead the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League standings with 15 points from six matches, setting the early pace with authority. Dynamos sit just behind them, playing with confidence and purpose. Highlanders may be down in 12th, but the bigger picture is different, they are organised, disciplined and no longer easy to break down.
It is not dominance yet. But it is control starting to return.
That matters because the last decade told a different story.
The last time one of the traditional giants lifted the title was in 2016, when Lloyd Chitembwe guided CAPS United to glory. After that, the league moved on without them.
FC Platinum took charge and turned consistency into silverware, winning four straight titles between 2017 and the combined 2021-22 season. The Covid-19 disruption wiped out 2020, but the shift in power had already happened. Ngezi Platinum Stars followed in 2023, Simba Bhora in 2024, and Scottland last season.
The giants were no longer feared they were being replaced.
Now they are pushing back.
Former CAPS United and Warriors defender Dumisani Mpofu believes the rise of new teams forced this response.
“What happened in the last two or three seasons was necessary,” Mpofu told Zimpapers Sports Hub.
“The coming in of these new teams, the likes of Scottland, MWOS and many other teams has given a new lease of life to local football.
“To be fair there is a new aura around football now, their coming in has reinvented football, forcing the giants of Zimbabwean football to awaken from their slumber. And I can safely say the giants of local football (Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS) are back at the top.”
There are signs everywhere, not just on the log.
Dynamos look like a side that believes again, structured, confident, and feeding off expectation. CAPS United have rhythm and are turning it into points early. Highlanders are still short on goals, but they are building something harder to find, consistency.
And with that comes something Zimbabwean football has missed, pressure.
The noise is returning. The expectation. The demand to win every week.
At Rufaro and Barbourfields, results are starting to matter in a way they have not for a while.
The weekend offers a proper test of whether this is real or just a fast start.
Dynamos host FC Platinum at Rufaro Stadium on Sunday, a fixture that pits the old power against the team that defined the recent era. If Dynamos are truly back, this is where it has to show.
FC Platinum coach Joel Luphahla understands the shift.
“It is good for football to have the big three playing well like they are doing, they are the heartbeat of football in this country,” he said.
“I know it is not going to be easy against Dynamos on Sunday especially now that they are on song, but we are former champions, we have plans of our own and will do our best on the day.”
Beyond this weekend, the next run of fixtures will start to expose who is ready to stay in the race.
Dynamos face Scottland, ZPC Kariba and Chicken Inn in a sequence that will test their consistency. CAPS United take on TelOne, Highlanders and Chicken Inn, a stretch that could either cement their lead or pull them back into the pack. Highlanders themselves face Chicken Inn, CAPS United and Herentals, a run that could quickly change their position.
This is where early momentum either holds or fades.
Mpofu insists Highlanders are closer than the table suggests.
“When you look at Highlanders, yes they are not at the top of the log like the other two, but don’t count them out.
“Benjie is doing a good job, the team is not losing, and once they get a result, they are back there in the mix with the other teams at the top,” he said.
He expects a title race that does not follow the recent script.
“The title race this season is not as clear-cut; it’s up for the taking a number of teams will have a say but I believe the big three in the country will be up there until the end.
“They have a huge following, and that is a big advantage because players like to play under pressure, fans give you the motivation to deliver, that’s where DeMbare, Bosso and CAPS United have an edge. It is starting to show at some of their matches this season.”
That edge has always been there. It just went quiet.
Now it is coming back, the crowds, the pressure, the expectation that comes with wearing those shirts. And with it, the possibility that the league could tilt back to the names that built it.
But this is not done yet.
The giants are rising again, yes, but the teams that replaced them are still here, still organised, still ambitious.
The question is no longer whether Dynamos, CAPS United and Highlanders can compete.
It is whether they can finish the job or whether the new order is ready to fight back.
