Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda
Zimpapers Sports Hub
AFTER seven years in Dynamos colours, skipper Emmanuel Jalai is leaving DeMbare for South Africa after agreeing a reported two-year deal with Betway Premiership side, Durban City.
The move was being wrapped up late yesterday, with Jalai’s handlers still ironing out the final details before the paperwork is signed.
At 26, Jalai walks away as one of the faces of Dynamos’ recent era, a player who arrived quietly and ended up carrying the armband when the club needed a leader most.
He joined Dynamos in 2019 after graduating from the Aces Youth Soccer Academy, stepping into a giant shirt at a club that doesn’t give patience to unknowns.
From a fringe and unheralded player, Jalai forced his way into the team, earned trust and grew into one of the most influential and dedicated captains the Glamour Boys have had in years.
Last season, he was at the centre of Dynamos’ survival fight, leading what many at Rufaro described as a near miraculous escape from relegation when the pressure was at its heaviest and the mood around the club had turned dark.
He helped Dynamos extend their grip on the Chibuku Super Cup, playing his part in a record run of three straight titles that kept the club’s trophy cabinet ticking even when the league campaign was wobbling.
His consistency did not go unnoticed beyond DeMbare, with Jalai making the Castle Lager Soccer Stars calendar in back to back years, 2024 and 2025, a nod reserved for players who don’t just show up, but deliver.
Those performances also opened the national team door, and Jalai earned his Warriors call up at a time when Zimbabwe were looking for dependable options down the right.
He featured prominently at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco last December, as Zimbabwe made their sixth appearance at the tournament, another campaign that ended early, with the Warriors once again exiting at the group stage.
But even in that disappointment, Jalai’s displays stood out, switching between right back and right winger, and giving Zimbabwe energy and discipline on a flank that often becomes a soft spot against top opposition.
Durban City have moved fast to secure him, targeting one of Zimbabwe’s best right backs as they push through the middle stretch of the 2025/2026 Betway Premiership season.
The South African side sit seventh on the log, and Jalai’s arrival gives them a player used to pressure, used to expectation and shaped by the weekly demands of playing for a club like Dynamos.
