Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
IT’S that time of the season when the league table briefly takes a back seat and one question dominates; who will walk away with the Golden Boot?
In the stands, on radio shows, even in backroom chatter, talk shifts from points and permutations to goal tallies. Strikers have been building momentum for months, but now the real test begins. Can anyone finally smash through the elusive 20-goal barrier?
It has been more than a decade since a striker in Zimbabwe’s top-flight managed it. The drought has turned the 20-goal mark into something mythical, a measuring stick that today’s forwards have yet to touch.
Former Highlanders hitman Zenzo Moyo knows that feeling of chasing history. Back in 2000, he had already scored 22 goals by mid-season before a move abroad cut short what could have been a record breaking run. Two years earlier, he had banged in 24 goals and claimed the Soccer Star of the Year award at the turn of the millennium.
“Some of the records we set were never meant to stand forever,” Moyo told Sunday News. “Records are made to be broken and I believe we’ve got the talent in this country to do just that. The only thing our strikers need now is belief.”
To grasp the size of the challenge, you have to go back to 1986 when Moses “Bambo” Chunga tore through the league, scoring a staggering 46 goals in one season. That record remains untouchable, a legend passed down through generations.
Chunga, who was crowned Soccer Star of the Year that year, didn’t just score, he dominated. He later recalled that the previous season he had finished second on the charts with 22 goals, a figure that most modern strikers can’t reach even across full campaigns.
Since then, only a handful have come close. Evans Chikwaikwai struck 23 in 2008. The late Norman Maroto netted 22 for Gunners in 2010. Alois Bunjira once rattled in 23 goals in just half-a-season at CAPS United in 1996. But since then, the numbers have dipped. William Manondo claimed the Golden Boot in 2022 with 17. Last year, Takunda Benhura managed just 13.
That’s why 2025 feels different.
Washington Navaya of TelOne leads this season’s chart with 15 goals after Matchday 29, while Tymon Machope of Scottland FC and Billy Veremu of MWOS are both on 12. Behind them, Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya has 9, with a pack of challengers chasing.
For Bunjira, belief and hunger remain the deciding factors. “When I scored 22 goals in half-a-season, I wasn’t thinking about records, I was hungry to win, hungry to score. That kind of mentality separates good strikers from great ones. These boys have what it takes, I do believe that. It might not be this season but the potential is there.”
2025 Golden Boot Race
(after Matchday 29)
Washington Navaya (TelOne) – 15
Tymon Machope (Scottland FC) – 12
Billy Veremu (MWOS) – 12
Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya – 9
Issakar Guribab – 8
Reason Sibanda – 8
Innocent Masiwa – 7
Charles Munyanyi – 7
Francis Mustafa – 6
Jarrison Selemani – 6
Aaron Zeka – 6
Talent Chamboko – 5
Milton Chimedza – 5
Obriel Chinda – 5
Tawanda Macheke – 5
Junior Makunike – 5
Brian Muza – 5
Fanuel Shoko – 5
