Tinaye Agere
Langton Nyakwenda
AS vibrant as it is, with its prominent districts that include Marondera, Murewa, Mutoko and Seke, Mashonaland East province still does not have a Premier Soccer League team.
The province is joined by Matabeleland South in this unenviable situation.
While Yadah have strong origins in Chitungwiza, where their owner Walter Magaya hails from, the Miracle Boys are based at Heart Stadium in Waterfalls, Harare.
The capital city is also home to Dynamos, CAPS United and Herentals.
Highlanders, Chicken Inn, Bulawayo Chiefs and Arenel Movers are from Bulawayo, while Matabeleland North has Hwange.
Manicaland boasts Manica Diamonds and Green Fuel, while Simba Bhora have brought Premiership football back to Mashonaland Central.
Ngezi Platinum Stars, ZPC Kariba and Chegutu Pirates are from Mashonaland West, with FC Platinum and TelOne hailing from the Midlands province.
Premiership debutants Bikita Minerals are the sole representatives of Masvingo.
This leaves Mashonaland East and Matabeleland South still clamouring for a Premiership side.
Teams from Mashonaland East participate in the Eastern Region Soccer League, which has largely been dominated by teams from Manicaland and, to some extent, Masvingo.
Winners of the Eastern Region championship mainly come from Manicaland and Masvingo provinces.
It is a scenario troubling football leaders in Mashonaland East.
Zimpapers Sports Hub caught up with ZIFA Mashonaland East province chairperson Oscar Tsvuura at the Yemurai Kanyangarara Tournament held in Chihota last week.
“The main issue in this province is the lack of corporate sponsorship; if you look at our teams in the Eastern Region, most of
them are funded by individuals,” said Tsvuura.
Hunters, St Paul’s Musami and Grayham are some of the individually owned teams from Mashonaland East that compete in the Eastern Region Soccer League.
Surrey are corporate-owned, but Zimpapers Sport are reliably informed that the owners do not have the desire to play top-flight football.
“We had teams that folded or were relegated from the Eastern Region because of lack of sponsorship,” said Tsvuura.
“For a club to compete with the best, there is need for sound sponsorship.
“You need to cover the travel expenses, pay player bonuses and all those things. If you compare us with other provinces like Manicaland, Masvingo or Mashonaland West, those have teams that are backed by corporates.
“You have your Green Fuel and Manica Diamonds in Manicaland, Bikita Minerals in Masvingo, Triangle . . . they were all corporate-backed when they won promotion into the Premiership.
“That’s the missing link in Mashonaland East; we don’t have big corporates in the province.”
Tsvuura urged corporates funding schools football to consider sponsoring Division One teams.
Proton is among the big companies from Mashonaland East and it sponsors a schools Under-20 tournament.
A number of individuals are also sponsoring spontaneous tournaments across the province.
“A tournament is like a starter or a finisher; there’s no main meal,” said Tsvuura.
“Sponsors of these tournaments should also come and work with us.
“If we work together, one day we will achieve our goal.
“We need to work towards the improvement of talent that is awash in the province; and we have competitive teams that can win the Eastern Region title.
“If we had a big corporate company in the province, then we could identify a team that it can sponsor and we all push behind that team.”
Mashonaland East, especially Chitungwiza and Seke, have produced several star players, but most of them end up playing for teams in Harare.
Former Kaizer Chiefs and Warriors defensive linkman Willard Katsande hails from Mutoko.
“The fact that Mashonaland East is closer to Harare is also an issue,” he said. “Because most of the players who are there in Mashonaland East — in areas like Seke, Chitungwiza, Ruwa and Goromonzi — will end up going to Harare where there are better opportunities.
“That means we are left with average players turning out for teams in Mashonaland East province.
“The province is rich with talent. If you look at tournaments that are held in the province, there are a lot of good players. It’s just that we don’t have big corporates chipping in.”
Online Reporter