Online Reporter
INTERESTING times have hit the 2025 Premier Soccer League campaign, with both the title chase and the bid to avoid relegation reaching a crescendo.
As captured in this publication, log leaders Scottland have three games left in which to seal a historic championship title in their maiden season.
Scottland need four points from a possible nine to be crowned champions, irrespective of what second-placed Simba Bhora and MWOS, who are third, will do.
If they achieve the feat, they will become the first club in the 33-year history of the Premiership to win the championship on their first attempt.
The only other team to attain such success was Black Rhinos, who won the championship in 1984 when the top flight was still called the Super League and run directly by the Zimbabwe Football Association.
While Scottland are on the verge of unprecedented Premiership glory, the race against relegation at the lower end of the table is a crunch affair featuring unusual suspects in the name of Highlanders, CAPS United and Dynamos.
The national game’s traditional Big Three clubs are fighting relegation, which means they will once again be missing next year when Zimbabwe is represented in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League.
Only the top-flight kings get to play in the Champions League, and if the country’s clubs have earned enough points by way of consistently performing well over a five-year period, they are rewarded with a second slot.
Sadly, for Zimbabwe, our clubs have fallen out of CAF’s top 75 sides, which is headlined by Egyptian giants Al Ahly in pole position and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in second place.
We believe that for Zimbabwean football to rise to the standards that we all aspire to see for our game, it must start with local sides being regular actors in the CAF inter-club competitions, which are the Champions League and Confederation Cup.
Yet Zimbabwean football has a proud history, but it is littered with missed opportunities and under-performance at the highest level.
Dynamos’ 1998 CAF Champions League run, in which they reached the final, is still remembered as the highest point attained by any local team.
That team was not as financially well-backed as the clubs competing today, yet they had a clear plan, unwavering passion and leaders committed beyond the call of duty. They battled against an ASEC Mimosas side featuring the teenage Kolo Touré, Didier Zokora, and Aruna Dindane — players who would later become global stars for Côte d’Ivoire and European clubs.
A decade later, Dynamos reached the semi-finals again in 2008, only to be stopped by Cameroon’s Cotonsport Garoua.
Blackpool also reached the semi-finals of the Africa Club Cup Winners’ Cup (now Confederation Cup) in 1995, propelled by a fusion of youth and experience and led by the breakout striker George Mbwando.
Yet since those days, Zimbabwean clubs seem to coast on a strange belief that hope and belief, coupled with some talent alone, will get the job done.
They enter continental competitions under-prepared, underfunded and with minimal professional structures. This complacency is evident when one compares our clubs to the training facilities of Mamelodi Sundowns or Orlando Pirates — clubs that now form the backbone of South Africa’s national team.
The level of investment, meticulous planning and professional culture required to succeed at club level in Africa is clear, and Zimbabwean clubs often fall woefully short.
We note with satisfaction, however, the signs of hope that clubs like Simba Bhora, Scottland and MWOS are beginning to set up proper structures and professionalise operations.
Yet Simba Bhora’s stumbles against a lowly team from Eswatini illustrate just how far Zimbabwe still has to go. Passion and talent are important, but they are not enough. Strategic planning, investment in facilities, modern training regimes and a culture of accountability are non-negotiable if our clubs are to succeed.
ZIFA must also rise to the occasion, not merely as an administrator of fixtures, but as an active enabler of success.
Support for clubs should include logistical assistance, incentives, scouting and facilitating international-standard coaching and tactical preparation.
Local authorities and corporates also have a critical role to play. Homologating stadia to meet CAF standards would allow clubs to host continental games at home, rather than play in borrowed venues or overseas, which undermines both fan support and revenue potential.
Sponsorship, investment, and local engagement are vital for clubs to build sustainable operations and compete effectively.
Success in the CAF Champions League is not optional — it is essential for the growth and credibility of Zimbabwean football.
Continental campaigns offer financial rewards, elevate the profile of our players, attract sponsorship, and inspire the next generation. Zimbabwean clubs have the talent, but it must be matched with professionalism, vision, and an unrelenting appetite for excellence.
The continent is watching, and we can no longer afford to coast on past glories or untested assumptions.
The 1998 Dynamos team proved that Zimbabwean clubs could compete with the very best, even with fewer resources, as did the class of 2008, which included Edward Sadomba, Justice Majabvi, Murape Murape and Willard Manyatera.
They were the poorest in a group that had previous winners Al Ahly and Zamalek (Egypt) and regular Ivorian campaigners ASEC.
What those teams had were structure, leadership, commitment, and a culture of accountability — qualities that must be revived today.
If ZIFA, local authorities, corporates, coaches, and players align behind a clear strategy, Zimbabwean football can reclaim its place among Africa’s elite.
The time for excuses is over.
The CAF Champions League is not a playground; it is a test of preparation, resilience, and ambition.
Zimbabwean clubs must stop coasting, invest in the structures that matter, and approach the tournament with the seriousness it demands. Only then can we hope to return to semi-finals, finals, and, eventually, lift the trophy that has eluded us for too long.
The continent is ready — the question is whether Zimbabwe is.
Perhaps, with all the ambition and potential they have shown, Scottland could make Zimbabwean club football stand up and be counted again.
