Celebrating Heroes, ZDF through sport

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA cancelled all Premier Soccer League matches slated for the past weekend to pave way for Heroes’ holidays matches across the country in recognition of football as an effective social vehicle through which messages of hope, unity and solidarity have been spread on a global scale.

The highlight of the 28 football matches was the clash between old foes Dynamos and Highlanders at Rufaro Stadium, which a youthful Bosso 90 won 2-0 against their more experienced counterparts.

Highlanders decided to field their Division One side laced with a couple of first team players, since the senior team was to clash with the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Select side in Harare yesterday.

Zifa said it deemed it fit to celebrate the valiant and invaluable sacrifices of all fallen and living heroes during the war of liberation from colonial rule by staging football matches to mark Heroes’ Day commemorations.

“A football match has always been played to celebrate the Defence Forces, thus we have decided to extend the culture to the Heroes’ Day, taking the celebrations all across the nation. Football is undoubtedly the most popular sport in the country and it can be played in both rural and urban areas. In that respect, the celebrations become a nationwide event. It is also important to note that football was an important facet of the several ways in which our forefathers expressed agitation against colonial rule, therefore, we should continue playing the game, especially on the day when we celebrate their lives.

“To date, football institutions like Highlanders and Dynamos, which were born during colonial times, are still in existence. What they signified back then might have changed, but they still serve as a reminder of the long journey we have travelled as a country, both on the football and political fronts,” said Zifa communications and competitions manager Xolisani Gwesela.

In some of the matches played on Monday, Chicken Inn overcame Bulawayo City 1-0 in a match at White City Stadium, while Hwange beat ZPC Hwange 2-1 at the Colliery Stadium.

@skhumoyo2000