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Fungai Muderere, Senior Sports Reporter
FOUR times in a row Castle Lager Premier Soccer League champions FC Platinum have set up a two-week pre-season training camp in Bulawayo that started on Monday.
The club’s media liaison officer Chido Chizondo said they have always found the City of Kings and Queens beneficial for their arsenal to fine tune for bruising PSL campaigns and other contests.
“Yes, it’s true that we have since established a two weeks training camp in Bulawayo. We held our first training session on Monday and we are using a local sports club which we have been using since 2015. We have always found Bulawayo conducive for our boys to help them get ready for the start of a new PSL season and other competitions,” said Chizondo.
The four-time league champions, who are under the mentorship of ex-Warriors captain Norman Mapeza, have since parted ways with William Stima, Blessing Moyo, Nigel Makumbe, Onifade Abubakar Temitope and Evidence Tendayi.
Pure Platinum Play have reunited with Perfect Chikwende who left financially troubled Bulawayo Chiefs.
The 29-year-old’s return to FC Platinum was confirmed on Monday when the free spending outfit also announced the arrival of winger Jarrison Selemani (25) and left back Misheck Ngwenya (24).
Selemani joined Platinum from Cranborne Bullets. Ngwenya previously did duty for Triangle United.
Chikwende left Pure Platinum Play at the beginning of the 2021 season and spent a year at Simba SC of Tanzania.
When the Tanzanian giants terminated his contract, he returned to the Zvishavane based side but decided not to sign a contract and opted to join Bulawayo Chiefs where he played a crucial role in their Chibuku Super Cup win over Herentals.
Asked if they were already done with their player recruitment ahead of the start of the 2023 season, Chizondo said: “I can’t say that. We will always know about that after the players get fully assessed by our coaches.”
By winning their fourth league on the trot title at the end of last year, Pure Platinum Play equaled Highlanders and Dynamos’ record for most succeeding league titles in the modern day PSL era.
FC Platinum’s first title came in 2017 to become the first team based outside Harare and Bulawayo in the recent PSL period to be crowned champions.
Last season saw gaffer Mapeza being voted Coach of the Year while their midfield livewire Walter Musona, who is the younger brother to celebrated former Warriors skipper Knowledge was named Soccer Star of the Year at a glittering event that also saw Caps United’s William Manondo and Dynamos’ rock-solid defender Frank Makarati being named as his first and second runners ups respectively. -@FungaiMuderere
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