Chronicle Editor
Chicken Inn FC
Our History
THE year 2015 will stay etched in the club’s history as the team became Zimbabwe Castle Lager champions for the first time.
The team amassed 61 points having lost only five, drawn seven and won 18 games.
The Gamecocks provided four players on the calendar and these were Edmore Chirambadare, Clemence Matawu, Goalkeeper of the Year, Elvis Chipezeze and the Soccer Star of the Year, captain Danny Phiri.
Chirambadare ended the season as the top goalscorer with 11 goals.
Joey Antipas, for his excellent results was voted Coach of the Year.
Chicken Inn was originally known as Bakers Inn, a social club where Innscor workers and outsiders would gather and socialise with other teams.
In 2004, then Bakers Inn joined the Division Three League as a social independent team. The company eventually came on board to sponsor the team in 2005 hence the change in name from Bakers Inn to Chicken Inn.
During this period, it was coached by Dickson Mbazo who was assisted by Mark Mathe.
The company under Bakers Inn in 2006-7 joined forces to sponsor Highlanders and in 2006, in that same year Highlanders lifted the Premier Soccer League Championship.
In 2008, the team was promoted to Division One and Mark Mathe was promoted to the position of head coach after Mbazo resigned to join another Division One side in the region.
Mathe was assisted by Saymore Dube and Julius Ndhlovu.
The team was poised for Championship glory but unfortunately, it lost grip of the top spot and drew nine successive league games. This poor run of form saw Mathe resign as the Head Coach with Saymore Dube taking over as the interim coach for just two games. After the two games, the late Lindile Dube was appointed as the head coach up to the end of the season.
In 2010, Philani Ncube, Philani Mabhena, Julius Ndlovu, Xavier Kamitsa and Dumisani Nyoni formed a new technical team, which was meant to help the team to qualify for the PSL. Luveve Stadium was then chosen to be the team’s home ground up to date.
The well assembled team went for 28 games unbeaten and ruled the roost in that same year, which meant the team secured their spot into the 2011 PSL season.
In the PSL debut season, Ncube the head coach left his hot seat with only three games to the season end, which saw Ndlovu (the assistant) filling the void and was assisted by Ndhlovu and Sikhumbuzo Banda. In those three games, the trio managed to win two and lost one. The team finished on position eight.
In 2012, Ndlovu was appointed the club’s head coach, he was assisted by Mandla Mpofu, which meant Ndhlovu (Julius) reverted back to his goalkeeper coach role while Banda went to assist the club’s developmental side
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