Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
CAPS United president Farai Jere said he has put everything in place for the Green Machine to become competitive again in the 2026 Premier Soccer League season.
Makepekepe, just like fellow giants Dynamos and Highlanders are fresh from yet another disappointing season in which they spent a significant period towards the end of the 2025 marathon fighting for survival.
They eventually scrapped a top-half finish, but they were far off the mark behind champions Scottland despite having been touted as one of the pre-season favourites.
Now, just like last year and the term before, CAPS United look strong on paper but Jere knows this has been the script over the years and decided every member of the squad from the board, administration, secretariat, and technical and playing staff, needed some orientation into the club culture.
The two-day induction workshop ended in Harare yesterday and Jere is convinced the club’s staff now know fully what it means to be at the Green Machine.
“This induction workshop with the players is the first of its kind because we realised that we cannot just take the boys and take them to the ground and say, ‘No, let’s play.’
“We wanted them to be abreast of our vision; we wanted them to understand the history of the club because we can be the people we want if we appreciate our history,’’ Jere said.
“We are trying to condition the players and work with their mindsets for them to understand what CAPS United means and what playing for the team means.
“We talked about our legends, the success stories of the club, it’s very important for them to know that these are the successes which this team has achieved and who are the legends who once played for this team. It was part of the induction.
“We want them now to be the next set of legends who are going to make history for the club because they should actually take that history to be theirs, to be part of them.”
After seeing a disappointing season, Jere swiftly activated club apparatus in October last year, going on the charm offensive and signing players well before the season ended.
And by November, the club had already succeeded in taking on board coach Takesure Chiragwi from Ngezi Platinum Stars.
The former left back is now in charge of a team that has now recruited at least nine new players mostly those he tagged along with him from the Mhondoro miners.
“What makes a player who is coming from another team different from the next player? There isn’t much in terms of talent. In terms of talent, most players in another team are tough; what makes the difference the main difference is the character; it’s the way you carry yourself when you’re playing for CAPS United knowing that this is a pressure club, and it was very interesting when I then asked some of the players there some questions,” added Jere.
“I asked Obriel Chirinda about how he felt when he was playing against CAPS United?
“He said, even the coaches, everyone in the club, the mood changes, and even the training programme changes.
“And I said, now this is what you’ll be facing week in, week out.
“So, there should be a change in character and the way things are happening.
“And this is exactly what we were doing with our induction, what is expected. Every player should play at that level.”
Jere said the team should recapture their glory days and Chiragwi, along with his assistant Zambian Ian Bakala, who was in charge last year have been made aware of this.
“We need to restore the CAPS United glory days, the success stories which once headed CAPS United.
“We want our fans to start having those smiles again on their faces. CAPS United is very different from all other teams. Those are the issues everyone should understand.”
