marble nkomo
Lovemore Dube, Zimpapers Sports Hub
Zimbabwe Saints will not play in the 2026 Zifa Southern Region Division One season after a deepening leadership fight pushed the club into the courts and left the league with no room to include them in the new campaign.
The Bulawayo club, one of the country’s most recognisable football names, is locked in a dispute over control between factions linked to Ishmael Kaguru and Vincent Pamire.
With the matter now before the courts, the Southern Region confirmed Saints are not part of the 18 team line up submitted to Zifa for the coming season.
While other clubs prepare for kick off, Saints remain stuck in boardroom turmoil.
Club representatives Martin Mabvira and long time Saints figure Gibson Homela attended the Zifa Southern Region annual general meeting in Esigodini at the weekend, hoping the club could be allowed back into the league.
Saints were expelled last year after failing to settle outstanding obligations that included 2024 arrears as well as affiliation and registration fees.
At the time, the club asked the league to hold its franchise while internal problems were resolved.
A year later, the problems have grown.
The faction aligned to Kaguru, which includes Homela and Mabvira, has taken the issue of custodianship to court. They want Pamire and his group, who had been working with former executive member Tawanda Ruzive, removed from the club’s structures.
Ruzive’s executive has since been dismissed while Pamire’s authority as chairman of the trustees is now being challenged through legal proceedings.
Those contesting his position argue the club should still operate under its 1999 constitution, which they say remains the governing framework.
Pamire is the only remaining trustee from the group appointed in 1988 when the trustees acquired the Italian Club in Queens Park East and converted it into the Zimbabwe Saints clubhouse.
In a letter dated March 12 addressed to the Zifa Southern Region Division One congress, the trustees apologised for the club’s conduct and financial failures.
“We, the Trustees of Zimbabwe Saints FC, being the custodians of the club, write to express our deepest and sincere apologies for the unacceptable behaviour of our representatives at the Zifa Southern Region AGM of 2025 and for our failure to meet our financial obligations to the league,” the letter read.
“We acknowledge that our actions were unbecoming and fell short of the standards expected of a 90 year old club member.
“We humbly appeal to Congress to reconsider our re-admission and we assure you, we will respect the league’s rules and fulfil all fixtures without disruption. We have also paid the required fees for new entrants.”
The trustees also confirmed that Ruzive and his executive had been dismissed from the club.
Zifa Southern Region chairman Chris Mtungwazi said the league cannot act while the dispute remains before the courts.
“The Zimbabwe Saints matter is now before the courts. They have taken each other to court,” said Mtungwazi.
He confirmed the league has already forwarded the list of 18 clubs for the 2026 season to Zifa in Harare. Those teams have either paid their fees in full or made partial payments to show commitment to the competition.
Mtungwazi said the Kaguru group deposited some money into the Zifa account but were later advised to collect a refund.
“They were asked to collect the refund, which they have refused, saying they do not have an account. They believed they would still be accommodated despite the rules of football, which are promotion, retention and relegation,” he said.
“As a league, we keep slots for teams promoted from lower leagues, those relegated from the Premier Soccer League and those that survive relegation. We operate within the rules of football associations.
“If we admit one faction today, we could wake up to a court challenge from the other.”
Mtungwazi said the Saints issue was never placed on the agenda during the AGM.
A councillor, who attended the meeting said clubs were ready to walk out if the matter had been forced onto the floor.
“They are toxic in their current state. Football cannot deal with a divided club,” the councillor said.
“They even struggle to meet basic obligations such as affiliation and registration fees. League football runs on promotion and demotion. Everyone knows the rules.”
For now, Zimbabwe Saints remain absent from the football calendar.
The club’s past still carries weight in Zimbabwean football history. Saints produced players such as Gibson Homela, Agent Sawu, George Ayibu, Ebson Muguyo, Ephraim Chawanda, the late Misheck Sibanda, Obey Sova, Douglas Maneto, Max Tshuma and William Sibanda.
They won the Nyore Nyore Cup in 1974, lifted the Chibuku Trophy in 1976 and secured a league and cup double in 1977 before winning the league and the Chibuku Trophy again in 1988.
That legacy now sits in uncertainty as the fight for control continues in court.
Online Reporter