Online Reporter
Africa Moyo-Deputy National Editor
From champagne football after finishing fifth last season to survival prayers this season.
That is the journey TelOne football club have travelled in the last 12 months.
Speaking at TelOne’s 12th annual general meeting in Harare today, the company’s chief executive Engineer Lawrence Nkala pleaded for prayers from stakeholders to ensure the team is not relegated from the Premier Soccer League this year.
Nkala said while they enjoyed a hugely successful season last year, it is not all rosy this term.
“We need prayers in 2026 for us to survive relegation,” he said.
“TelOne FC had its most successful season since gaining promotion into the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League, finishing 5th out of 18 teams in the 2025 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.
“This represented a significant improvement from the 10th-place finish in 2024 and established TelOne FC among the league’s top-performing clubs.”
Their former player, Washington Navaya, was crowned Soccer Star of the Year and Top Goal Scorer last season.
Navaya has since been signed by newboys Hardrock for the 2026 season.
It is his departure that seems to explain much of TelOne’s current predicament.
Navaya carried the Wifi Boys with goals, confidence, and match-winning moments.
His move to Hardrock stripped the Gweru side of its cutting edge, and the table now reflects it.
The situation is so bad for TelOne given they are sitting on 15th position, with 13 points, just 3 points above the table anchors Triangle United, who are rumoured to be on the brink of signing Genesis Mangombe to turn around the situation.
Triangle’s search for a lifeline underlines how desperate the bottom of the PSL has become. For TelOne, the gap to safety is paper-thin.
Other relegation teams include Agama, who are on 16th, and Manica Diamonds (17th), both with 13 points like TelOne.
With three clubs locked on 13 points, the lower half is now a dogfight. Goal difference, away results, and single moments will decide who escapes and who drops. There is no room for a slow start to the second round.
If TelOne FC is to survive the dreaded chop, the prayers must start tomorrow when the team takes on Simba Bhora at Wadzanai Stadium in Shamva.
Wadzanai was a fortress where fewer teams walked away with maximum points in the last two seasons. It is the kind of venue that can steady a wobbling campaign for TelOne. TelOne will need all of it against a Simba Bhora side with ambitions of their own.
For a company club, the stakes are higher than football for TelOne. Premier Soccer League football gives TelOne national visibility and provides a pathway for young players. Relegation would reverse the momentum built after finishing the 5th last season.
The contrast between 2024 and 2025 is stark. Two seasons ago, TelOne was 10th. Last year, they were 5th and celebrating individual awards. Now they are looking over their shoulder with 15th staring back.
Nkala did not dress it up. His assessment was blunt because the league table was blunt. In PSL terms, prayers mean points, clean sheets, and goals from players who must now step into Navaya’s boots.
From tomorrow, it is expected to be dog eat dog on the lower half of the table. Agama, Manica Diamonds and Triangle will all be fighting with the same urgency. No fixture in the bottom six will be easy, and no lead will be safe.
For TelOne supporters, the instruction is simple: back the team in Shamva for a positive result and hope the situation can be salvaged.
Last season was about climbing. This season is about clinging on. If the Wifi Boys can turn belief into results, the CEO’s prayers may be answered. If not, the dreaded chop awaits.
