Editorial Comment: Let’s give Benjani the support fit for a Warrior

make today a memorable event in which football will show its beautiful side.
We are charmed by Benjani’s initiative to invest a considerable sum of money into holding this testimonial, and organising such a big event, just for him to say goodbye to the supporters who were on his side when he was playing for the Warriors.
We have watched other footballers in other countries host their testimonials but we have never seen that happening on our doorsteps, since Independence, and we find it refreshing that someone has finally remembered how to do it and how to bow out of the grand stage in style.
Benjani has flown our national flag with pride since breaking into the major leagues of Europe when he joined French side Auxerre before his big money move to England where he played for Portsmouth, Manchester City and Sunderland.
Every time he scored for any of these clubs, including his winning goal on debut for Manchester City against Manchester United at Old Trafford, a lot of goodwill came to the name of our country in all the column inches that were written about him in newspapers around the world.
Each country in the world needs its sporting ambassadors, men and women who fly its flag in the trenches of sporting contests around the globe, and in their success stories, they do a lot of public relations for their nations. For a long time in the past decade, Benjani was the one footballer who did this job for Zimbabwe.
Two years ago, he retired from international football but still felt he needed a proper occasion to meet the fans, who backed him in his career, and say goodbye the proper way.
He needs our support today so that we show the world that we are a united family when it comes to our sport and we can honour our sporting heroes when they decide the time has come to leave the big stage. We can do that by going to the National Sports Stadium in numbers so that we fill it to capacity and create a carnival atmosphere that will show his visiting friends that we really appreciate the contribution that Benjani gave to our football.
Today Benjani does not represent any club or city but is a Zimbabwean sporting ambassador, who did his part for the good name of our country, and — as he says goodbye — needs us to be there with him for the grand occasion.
It would be a very sad day if we were to snub our former skipper, on the grand occasion where he has invited his foreign colleagues for the last supper, and our message to everyone who loves football in this country is to go to the giant stadium and support Benjani.
We have scores of foreign international athletes, who otherwise would be committed elsewhere, who have decided to fly into our country to support this cause and if these foreigners can see value in this project, then why can’t we?
These international footballers will, for the three days they will be in this country, see the real Zimbabwe and just as well the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality has jumped onto the bandwagon and seen the value in being part of this project.
It’s a fact that these international football stars will see a Zimbabwe that is at peace with itself, a nation that has so much beauty to charm them in every aspect and a country that needs to be visited regularly.
When they go back home, they will not only talk about the testimonial game but about our nation and chances are high that they will be speaking glowingly about us. That’s positive, in terms of our tourism drive, because these guys are international football stars and, when they speak, a lot of people listen carefully.
Crucially, the little cash sacrifices we can make today can also go to help a worthy cause, with proceeds from the gate takings set to be banked into the Benjani Mwaruwari Foundation, which will identify and nurture talented young footballers, who could play a big part in the Warriors’ fortunes in future.
Which, then, makes Zifa’s demands for Benjani to pay each member of the Warriors’ team US$5 000, for them to play in the testimonial, nonsensical since the association, in a normal situation, should actually be contributing a certain financial injection just to thank their captain for a job well done.
There are some critics who claim that Benjani never imposed himself on the Warriors the way he has done at all the clubs that he played for. But you can’t fault him for trying and he always gave his best, which matters most, and while he might not have taken the Warriors to the 2008 and 2010 Nations Cup finals, as captain, he was certainly not the sole reason we failed to make it.
Today is not a day to analyse Benjani’s career but to celebrate his journey, where he emerged from Magwegwe to command a  four million pound transfer fee and play for a club like Manchester City, because that is a story that’s worth celebrating.
Crucially, it’s a story that inspires millions of boys who are growing up in our high density suburbs today, who dream of one day becoming a football star, and Benjani is a living example that it can be done.
Just for one last time, let’s converge at the giant stadium and fill it to capacity so that we give a gallant Warrior a farewell worth his status as a football legend in this country.