Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Zimbabwe Sables and their coach Piet Benade could be in line for a double yet again when the Annual National Sports Awards return this week.
The awards ceremony will be held at the Casino Marina at the Long Chen Plaza on Friday.
The Sports and Recreation Commission have unveiled the nominees for the ANSA 2025 with the Sables, Benade and Tapiwanashe Makarawu frontrunners for the night’s biggest awards.
All three will be out to defend their Team, Coach and Sportsman of the year awards from the previous edition.
The US-based sprinter, Makarawu, is set to fight for his second consecutive Sports-person of the Year gong alongside cricketer Sikandar Raza and tennis player Sasha Chimedza.
Makarawu and Raza, are also vying for the Sportsman of the Year together with Wilfred Mashaya.
Makarawu had another outstanding season, walking away with the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor 200m titles last year.
The Zimbabwean 200m record holder went on to reach the final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
He finished seventh, proving his sixth-place finish at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was not a fluke.
He was crowned the overall Athlete of the Year at the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe 2025 Excellence Awards in Bindura to cap off an impressive season.
Makarawu also got the Male Senior Athlete of the Year award.
On the other hand, Raza opened the year by getting short-listed for the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year based on his stellar 2024 performance.
He then reached the number one spot in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings for the first time in early 2025.
Raza, later, also achieved the world number one T20I all-rounder ranking in late 2025.
Earlier in the year, he had broken the record for the most Player of the Match awards in T20Is by a Full Member nation cricketer, reaching 18 awards and surpassing established players like Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli of India.
The 39-year-old guided the Chevrons back to the World Cup stage after a three-year hiatus when Zimbabwe qualified for the ICC T20 Word Cup with a flawless campaign at home.
Raza also broke a couple of national records as he became the first Zimbabwean cricketer to reach the milestone of 5 000 runs in the T20I format.
He also made a mark in the international gigs, playing a legendary role in helping the Lahore Qalandars win their third Pakistan Super League title.
Chimedza is also in the running for the Sportswoman of the Year together with Rutendo Tom, also a tennis player, and Chido Maenzanise.
The Sables, on the other hand, are clear favourites for the Team of the Year award after defending their Rugby Africa Cup and, more importantly, qualifying for next year next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia.
They will be competing against the Hockey Under-21 Ladies side and the Chevrons.
Speaking to the Zimpapers Sports Hub, SRC communications manager Arthur Choga said preparations are already at an advanced stage, with the custodians of the awards expecting a high-quality event.
“Preparations have gone on quite well, we are happy that we continued our partnership with Scarlet Studios, who did the event management for us last year, and we have continued that working relationship with them,” said Choga.
“We are also happy that we managed to get partners to come on board like the Lottery and Gaming Board and West Properties.
“The Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture are always overlooking the processes while the Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Control Board have since come on as a partner.
“Together, we have been working and pulling our minds and energy together to ensure we have a flawless event,” he said.
Choga also went on to highlight how the People’s Choice Award and special recognition awards would be returning.
“We also have two categories that are very important to us, last year we rolled out an award for the Zimbabwean who has shown a great deal of diplomacy in representing the country through sport, and Stanley Mutoya was the inaugural recipient,” said Choga.
“The award is back again this year, and we will be conferring it upon another individual.
“We also have another special acknowledgement award for people or institutions who have invested in developing sporting infrastructure.
“We believe that without sporting infrastructure, sport cannot really be played; therefore, we also feel that it is encouraging and supportive to recognise when individuals and institutions play a part in the upgrading or building of sporting infrastructure,” he said.
Another category set to return is the People’s Choice Award, where fans will get to vote for their favourite sports-person from a pool of 15 drawn from nine sporting disciplines.
The 15 include Vimbayi Maisvoreva, Tapiwanashe Makarawu, Isaac Mpofu, Makanakaishe Charamba (Athletics), Sikandar Raza, Brian Bennett (cricket), Kudzai Mashawi (rugby), Wilfred Mashaya (martial arts), Chido Maenzanise (strength sports), Sasha Chimedza (tennis), Marshall Munetsi, Tawanda Maswanhise, Emmanuel Jalai (football), Beavan Sibanda (boxing) and Thandazile Ndlovu (netball).
