daniel chigunweEddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
MANICA Diamonds have described the hosting of the 2024 President’s Independence Trophy in their home province of Manicaland as a historic moment and have vowed to give maximum competition when they participate in the event for the first time next week.
The Gem Boys’ chairman Masimba Chihowa yesterday hailed the organisers for bringing the football gala to their doorstep after they were paired with Simba Bhora in the match to be played after the annual Children’s Party at Murambinda A Primary School.
Giants Dynamos and holders Highlanders will meet in the final at Murambinda B High School. The traditional Uhuru football matches are set to cap the celebrations to mark the country’s 44th anniversary.
The 2024 independence commemorations will be held in Murambinda and it is the first time that the province has hosted the festivities, in line with the Government’s drive towards the promotion of national unity, devolution and decentralisation.
The previous celebrations and the last edition of the Uhuru Cup was held in Mt Darwin with marked success.
Chihowa said the hosting of the President’s Independence Trophy in Manicaland was significant in that only a few months back, the province was starved of topflight football due to the unavailability of Sakubva Stadium.
The venue has since been homologated and has helped bring back the football buzz in the region.
“We greatly appreciate the gesture by government to bring a tournament of this magnitude to our province for the first time,” said Chihowa.
“Remember we did not have topflight football here for the past few years and now we are having the luxury of going to host a big tournament of this magnitude in our backyard.
“We are even more excited that as a team we are also getting involved in the Independence Trophy for the first time. It’s priceless.
“In fact, it’s a historic moment for us and we promise to put everything into it to make sure that fans from the province and those travelling from other parts of the country will get full value in terms entertainment.”
The Uhuru Cup, however, has come at a time when the Mutare-based outfit has been going through tough times.
Manica Diamonds have started off sluggishly after winning only one game of their five Castle Lager Premiership starts this season. This unfortunate statistic has thrust coach Jairos Tapera and his technical team under the spotlight.
Their opponents Simba Bhora on the other hand have been quicker off the blocks with three wins, one draw and one defeat and are in the top three after five rounds of play.
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