Online Reporter
Howard Musonza and Stanford Chiwanga
A DECADE ago, Chicken Inn were the kings of Zimbabwean football.
Today, they can’t win at home. Their fans are restless. The coach sounds defeated.
And the ghosts of 2015 hang over every misplaced pass.
This afternoon, they face a team built in their former image — flashy, fearless, and second on the log. That team is Scottland.
That game might just define what’s left of Chicken Inn’s season . . . or what’s left of their identity.
In 2015, Chicken Inn stunned Zimbabwean football by clinching the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title. They also made the Easy Call Cup final that year and cemented their place as PSL royalty.
The man behind that golden run? Joey Antipas, a name now synonymous with the club’s highest highs . . . and, arguably, its lowest lows.
Back then, Antipas’ team was irresistible. “We were attractive,” he told us. “We had players coming from all over Harare, different clubs. We were always in the top four. But lately, we’ve lost too many good players without replacing them.”
After their title-winning run, they won the Independence Cup in 2016 and the NetOne Charity Cup in 2013. They finished second in the league in 2019 and 2021/2022 and placed third in 2018. Even when not winning, they were always close.
But in recent seasons, things have gone sideways and Chicken Inn’s coaching bench has become a revolving door.
From Philani Ncube in 2010 to the present day, Chicken Inn’s coaching time-line reads like a merry-go-round.
After Antipas left in 2016 to take up a coaching role at South Africa’s Amazulu, Rahman Gumbo was appointed head coach. His tenure brought brief hope, but not enough silverware. Assistant coaches came and went, from Thulani Sibanda to Mandla Mpofu to Mkhuphali Masuku, each with brief stints and abrupt exits.
In 2018, Antipas returned and ushered in another era of promise. But it was short-lived. When CAF licensing rules were enforced by ZIFA and the PSL in 2023, Antipas, lacking the required CAF A License, was banned from the technical bench. Prince Matore was promoted, while Antipas was “elevated” to technical director just to keep him in the system.
The result? More instability.
“We thought a change of voice in the dressing room might help us topple FC Platinum,” said Secretary General Tawengwa Hara. “But it didn’t work. We ended up seventh, and things have only gotten worse.”
This season, Chicken Inn has yet to win at home. They’ve suffered 1–0 defeats to GreenFuel, MWOS and Simba Bhora, and drawn against FC Platinum, Herentals, and TelOne. They did beat Dynamos away and scored four past Kwekwe United, but those highs have been rare.
“It’s not a good feeling at all,” Antipas admitted. “We’ve brought in younger players, but it’s tough. They’re adjusting slowly. And with cost-cutting, we can’t compete with clubs like Scottland or Simba Bhora, who pay big.”
The heart of Chicken Inn’s fall lies in what they lost and failed to replace.
“When I left, players like Danny Phiri, Divine Lunga, Kutinyu, Teenage Hadebe had all gone,” Antipas said. “We also lost Mitchell Katsvairo and Edmore Chirambadare. That core was never rebuilt.”
Even recent losses sting: Richard Hachiro, Malvin Gaki, Brett Amidu and Shepherd Mhlanga, players who left for better deals elsewhere. “If you want to be a top side, you have to secure your best players,” said Antipas. “We didn’t.”
The club’s strategy, once built on sharp recruitment and tactical discipline, now appears reactive.
“We were stagnant,” Hara confessed. “We thought we had our man in Joey, and that was enough. But we didn’t plan for long-term evolution.”
Chicken Inn’s juniors once produced stars like Divine Lunga and Lawrence Mhlanga. But today, their developmental side plays in Division Two.
“We don’t have a team in Division One, and that makes it tough to bring through players quickly,” Hara said.
Antipas doesn’t sugarcoat it: “There’s no way we’re winning the league this season. Unless we win five or six games in a row, we’re not even talking about top four.”
So what’s the plan?
“We’re back at the drawing board,” Hara said. “We’ve created a target. We’ve told our sponsors, Simbisa Brands, that this is not who we are. We must refresh everything.”
It starts this afternoon.
Chicken Inn face a Scottland side that’s flying high on the PSL table.
Scottland has the likes of Khama Billiat and Walter Musona, players who would’ve been in Chicken Inn’s sights a decade ago.
“All we can do is fight,” said Antipas.
“We’ll try to match them with hard work. But it’s a tough league now.
Everyone’s struggling for goals. Even the top strikers aren’t what they used to be.”
Can Chicken Inn turn their season around? Find out live on our sister channel, ZTN Prime (DStv Channel 294).
Catch the action this Friday as Scottland host Chicken Inn at Rufaro Stadium. On Saturday, it’s GreenFuel vs table toppers MWOS and Sunday wraps up with Triangle vs Manica Diamonds at Gibbo Stadium. Broadcast starts at 2:30 PM.
Don’t just read about the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League, watch it live. Only on ZTN Prime.
