Online Reporter
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MUTARE-BASED Castle Lager Premiership side, Manica Diamonds, may have fought tooth and nail to avoid relegation last season, but their struggles have spilled into the new campaign.
After two rounds of the 2026 season, the Tafadzwa Mashiri-coached outfit is yet to register a point, sparking concern among supporters.
Behind the scenes, the situation has been far from ideal.
Player welfare issues continue to dominate, with principal sponsor, Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) seemingly overwhelmed by the financial strain of releasing allowances and salaries on time.
Unsurprisingly, morale in the camp has sunk to its lowest ebb.
Still, a section of the Mutare faithful insists it is premature to judge the team’s performance with only two matches played.
They point to the unforgiving fixture list that has pitted Manica Diamonds against three recent league champions in their opening encounters.
The diamond miners began their campaign with a narrow 0-1 defeat to Simba Bhora, followed by a 0-2 loss away to FC Platinum at Mandava Stadium.
Yesterday (Thursday), they were scheduled to host reigning champions Scottland FC at Gobi Stadium before heading to Kariba for a tricky clash against unpredictable ZPC Kariba.
Manica Diamonds Supporters treasurer, Wilbert Mukarakati, said: “With all due respect to our coach, he has been with the team since last year. He is aware where adjustments need to be done, and we do not expect to see last year’s errors like conceding late goals.
“Mind you, to us it is like a continuation because we have been with him as he is not new to the team. He needs to pull up his socks so that we can start winning games now because in football there is nothing like we will start getting points soon because these points lost will never be recovered. However, we have no doubt that the team will compete favourably in the near future.”
South Africa-based local benefactor, James Lunga Meya, popularly known in Mutare football circles as Hwetu, said: “The people of Manicaland need to unite and rally behind their pride, Manica Diamonds FC.”
Meya, who demonstrated his commitment by confirming that he will personally attend the match against Scottland to show his unwavering support for the team, went on to say: “I have all the confidence that Manica Diamonds have what it takes to secure maximum points and finish the league campaign on a high note.”
Speaking on the ongoing discussions surrounding the refurbishment and development of Sakubva Stadium as well as the idea of Manica Diamonds hosting its home matches away from home, Meya urged the community not to lose hope, emphasising that persistence and continued engagement with authorities are essential.
Meya expressed optimism that the matter will receive urgent attention so that the stadium can once again meet the standards required to host top-flight football.
“Manicaland has the passion, the supporters and the resources to restore the pride of our football. We must continue pushing until solutions are found,” said Meya.
Veteran Mutare football analyst, Tendayi Greene, said: “It is with a heavy heart to say it, but frankly speaking, the team is in an awkward Catch-22 situation.
“The team performed well in the last two matches despite the results being in the negative side, putting into consideration the state of our pitches and the elephant in the room – money.
“Word doing rounds is that the team’s financial health is dire at the moment due to plummeting diamond prices on the world markets which in turn will affect production at the parent company and it will eventually cascade to the team. Basically, the team does not have money at the moment.
“However, we cannot let this project sink, when we the owners of the team are there. I was talking to Gift Mapinda and other colleagues in the game, and it was agreed that money is what is needed here.
“We as supporters, we cannot fold our hands and just watch, then blame club officials like team manager, Ticha Zikai, chairman, Masimba Chihowa or coach Mashiri.
“We agreed with Mapinda to set up a fundraising committee for the team with our Resident Minister, Honourable Advocate Misheck Mugadza as our patron. Something really needs to be done for the team.”
Mashiri admitted that the start of the season is not what he had looked forward to, but expressed confidence that things will change for the better.
“This has been a very slow start to the season. As a team we know that we should do much better to arrest the situation. We do not have much time to prepare, from the second match to fourth match, it is three matches in seven days.
“Going into the next match, we are playing the defending champions. We need to be at our best to get a result in order to maintain confidence and belief. We need to improve, both defence and creation of scoring chances. It is not going to be easy, but we will give our best shot.”
