Mbada’s rock and roll

the glitter, as a hugely successful 2011 Mbada Diamonds Cup, came to a close under lights at the National Sports Stadium.
The poor drainage system at the giant stadium, and the primitive and desperate use of helmets to try and scoop water from pools that had emerged in the downpour, certainly took some gloss off the grand finale.
That our biggest and best football stadium doesn’t have a proper drainage system and, worse still, its management doesn’t see the value in investing in modern equipment used in dealing with a crisis, when nature intervenes, was certainly a shame and an indictment on the Sports Commission who manage this facility.
Given the match was being broadcast live across large parts of Africa, on SuperSport 9, it meant that our system failure, and the lack of proper back-up equipment to deal with the emergence we faced on Sunday, was taken into the homes of millions of people outside our borders.
That the final would not be a classic had long become common knowledge as the conditions on the tricky playing surface reduced even the best of the talented artists on the field into kick-and-rush merchants as holding the ball turned into a liability.
The miracle, instead, is that the game actually ended.
For, not once but twice, it looked like the safe bet was on it being abandoned as the treacherous conditions posed a serious danger to the players and Archford Gutu failed to last the first half, after being withdrawn injured, in his final game for Dynamos.
Amid the stop-and-start scenario, confusion crept in and South African referee, Daniel Bennett, appeared to finish a forgettable first half five minutes earlier than schedule.
But for all the talking points generated by that, it certainly couldn’t overshadow the fact that the Mbada Diamonds Cup scaled lofty heights in its maiden dance with domestic football, giving the game a touch of rock and roll it badly wanted.
The enduring image of this tournament will certainly not be the sight of workers in overalls scooping pools of water from the field or players struggling to adjust to a slippery pitch that had turned into a minefield after rains pounded the stadium right at kick-off.
But the lasting images will be the sights and sounds created by a tournament that arrived with a bang and lived up to its reputation, taking the game to virgin territories, giving players appearance fees for every game they played and underwriting the transport and accommodation costs for all the participating teams.
Teams spent nothing, to play in the Mbada Diamonds Cup, with all the costs being swallowed by the sponsors, including the kits all the teams used.
And the positive influence that the incentives had on the players was shown by the way cash-strapped Zimbabwe Saints, so clueless in the league, somehow found the inspiration to compete in the Cup.
For the record, Saints reached the semi-finals, eliminating neighbours Highlanders along the way, while little Kiglon, the other team whose players struggled for inspiration in the league against a background of funding complications, even found the energy to beat Chicken Inn.
A few weeks earlier, the same Chicken Inn had beaten Kiglon 5-0 at Rufaro.
What made the Mbada Diamonds Cup refreshingly different was that the sponsors were ready to make a show, which the tournament needed to make a big impression in its inaugural season, and they immediately struck the right note with the fans who embraced it.
The sponsors were there for their tourney, playing a leading role in the way every round was organised, and Patience Khumalo and George Manyaya emerged from nowhere, in terms of our football society, to play big roles in making the tournament a success.
Mbada Diamonds put a commitment into their project, and were rewarded with a showcase that exceeded all expectations, and justified all the hype the tournament created, when it arrived, carrying the bragging rights as the flagship knockout tourney on the local football scene.
The huge investment, into their publicity machinery, reaped big dividends for Mbada Diamonds and the pre-match road shows were as much a spectacle as they were a magnet into luring fans to the football stadiums.
The weekly television show on ZBC, in which Charles Mabika relived all the highlights of the matches played in the tournament the previous week, were a masterstroke in terms of publicising the tourney and brought it closer to the fans.
Their move, to provide free transport for lucky fans in the high density areas of Harare who could squeeze into the buses hired for that exercise, struck a cord with the supporters.
The foreign referees, who came in for the semi-finals and the final, spiced the occasions while the live broadcast of the grand finale, across large parts of Africa on SuperSport 9, brought everything to a fitting climax.
Even their awards presentation ceremony held at Cresta Oasis, on Sunday night, which attracted legendary Zimbabwean forward Peter Ndlovu and was hosted by Tich Mataz, was first class.
Zifa were so impressed – long before the tournament had reached its climax – they held a media conference just to say thank you to Mbada Diamonds for coming on board and bringing a breath of fresh air into the game.
Just to show how the grand finale on Sunday turned into a real showcase, we saw a stampede, from companies who wanted to use the opportunity provided by the occasion to market themselves, dominating the touchline with their adverts.
It’s not every year that sponsors are lucky to get a Dynamos/CAPS United duel in a domestic knockout tournament but Mbada Diamonds got it in the first round, with the game attracting 32 000 paying fans at the National Sports Stadium, which set the tone for the rest of the tourney.
Fears that the DeMbare/Makepekepe showcase would drain life out of the tournament, once that contest was over, proved unfounded as a full house at Barbourfields watched the Dynamos/FC Platinum semi-final decided by a Cuthbert Malajila goal.
Yes, there were three Mbada Diamonds Cup “finals” in this edition of the tourney with the CAPS/DeMbare game being a ‘final’ in itself, the Dynamos/FC Platinum semi also qualifying to be called a ‘final’ and the grand finale living up to expectations.
In the end, then usual suspects, Dynamos and Motor Action, lined up for the final and the chance to win US$70 000 in cash, for lifting the trophy, and also getting a further US$150 000 should they opt to represent Zimbabwe in the Caf Confederations Cup next year.
But there were a number of refreshing sub-plots written throughout the tourney and none better than Zimbabwe Saints’ superb run and Shooting Stars’ stunning victory over Hwange at Barbourfields while little Kiglon will curse their misfortune with penalty shootouts for their failure to get a semi-final slot.
While regular winners of individual awards, like Washington Arubi and Allen Gahadzikwa, came out tops in the Goalkeeper of the Tournament and Player of the Tournament battles, there were a number of heroes who emerged during this tournament.
Munyaradzi Diya reinvented himself in the colours of Zimbabwe Saints in this tournament, turning into the penalty-saving hero who guided Chauya Chikwata on an incredible journey into the semi-finals.
Isaac Masame remains a very underrated player, even though he is the heartbeat of the Mighty Bulls, but he was so inspirational, throughout the tourney, he should curse his stars he didn’t emerge the overall winner of the Player of the Tournament award.
It all came to an end on Sunday but one gets a feeling that there are many people who are already missing this tournament. People who can barely wait for the next edition. That’s what you get, as sponsors and organisers, when you do it the right way.