Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
SCOTTLAND chairman Tonderai “Pound” Sakupwanya has revealed his executive was left shell-shocked after the club president popped up and told them to win the league this year, back in January.
The Mabvuku team has made history after becoming the first team to win the Premier Soccer League title as debutants in the history of the modern Premiership.
The last team to write a similar story was Black Rhinos in 1984, but that was eight years before the coming of PSL.
And as the club celebrated the crown in soaking rains at Ascot Stadium in Gweru last Saturday, a bubbly Sakupwanya said the team owe it all to club president and his younger brother Pedzai “Scott” Sakupwanya for his stubborn faith.
“As a club, we want to give it to the vision carried and then inculcated into all of us by team president Pedzai “Scott” Sakupwanya,” said Tonderai.
“We played in the Northern Region Soccer League for the first time last year and we won the ticket to the Premier Soccer League.
“We were all happy to have achieved that feat. So as we prepared for life in the top-flight, we were devising how we would stay safe up there as the executive.
“But then the team president (Scott) came to us and said “look guys, we are in the PSL to win the title.
“Everyone was surprised but he explained to us that it’s a vision that everyone at the club should carry. That was back in January if I am not mistaken.”
Tonderai further explained: “That is how we then decided to break the bank and get players who we thought would be able to fulfil our mission.
“It’s not like we then got everyone we wanted but we moved swiftly to get most of them since the vision had been shared.
“It was a deliberate plan whose process we then just had to respect because we knew it was never going to be easy.
“We had to be thorough including even camping for two days instead of just one prior to key matches. We had to be very detailed right from the mental aspect up to the nutritional needs of every player.
“We also had to make sure the coach got exactly what he wanted in terms of personnel. We are happy to have achieved what we set out to achieve especially given that we have done it in a historic manner.”
Coach Ndiraya said the masterpiece came midway through the season when the club signed former Warriors captain Knowledge Musona, Mafious Chihweta, Moses Shidolo and Terrence Dzvukamanja.
“I think it all came down to the issue of depth,” Ndiraya said.
“We had several good players at the start of the season.
“I am very happy to have won this title.”
