Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THEY call him Isithakathi, “The Sorcerer”, and true to that name, MaCloud Moyo has cast an unbreakable spell over Chicken Inn FC.
Loud, loyal and larger than life, MaCloud is not just a fan. He is the fan. He is the living, dancing and chanting embodiment of the Gamecocks’ spirit, their unofficial mascot, hype man, travelling companion and club confidante, all rolled into one.
For over two decades, he has been Chicken Inn’s ever-present 12th man.
Whether the team is flying high or enduring a winless slump like this season’s slow start, MaCloud remains the loudest, brightest and most unrelenting figure in their camp.
And this is no metaphor; he literally camps with the team.
Dressed in full Chicken Inn regalia (often with a twist of his own comedic genius), MaCloud travels with the players on the team bus, dines with them and gains VIP access to Premier Soccer League matches, thanks to a club-issued PSL accreditation tag.
No other fan in the league holds such unique privileges.
“Chicken Inn have taken me places, even Egypt!” he laughs, referencing his trip to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
“Because of this club, I’m able to feed my family. I’m now a celebrity all because of Chicken Inn.”
Fate, it seems, had MaCloud pegged for the Gamecocks from early on, even if he did not know it then. As a teenager, he was a promising footballer. But life took a detour.
After school, he gave up the game and became a commuter omnibus conductor, operating along the streets of Bulawayo near the Chicken Inn head office.
That spot, by sheer coincidence, became his window into a world that would change his life.
Back in the late 1990s, Chicken Inn (then-called Bakers Inn) was just a social football club, a weekend gathering of Innscor employees and local football lovers.
MaCloud’s knack for organising transport soon made him a handy contact for the team.
“One day, around 1999, the guys were setting up the team and I was just hanging around,” he recalls. “I joked about joining them and they laughed at first, but one of them convinced the others to give me a chance. That was the start of it.”
He played for four years in the social league, turning out for Bakers Inn until the team evolved into a more competitive outfit.
When the parent company officially sponsored them in 2005 and rebranded the club to Chicken Inn, MaCloud hung up his boots, but not his loyalty. He simply transformed from player to permanent fan.
“I’ve never left since. I was there from social league, Division Two, Division One and now PSL,” he says proudly.
“The players treat me like one of them. This is my home.”
If his loyalty is unshakable, so is his sense of humour. MaCloud’s matchday look often includes outrageous twists, colourful undergarments over his kit, face paint, wigs or strange accessories, all worn to mock opponents and entertain fellow fans. Some might call him eccentric. The Gamecocks call him essential.
“He’s part of our fabric,” one club official once said.
“MaCloud doesn’t just support the team; he lifts it.”
In 2015, when Chicken Inn shocked the league by winning their first-ever PSL title, no one danced harder than MaCloud.
“I felt like I had personally achieved something great,” he says, eyes sparkling at the memory.
“That championship felt like the reward for every step I had walked with the team.”
Moyo’s fame reached its peak in 2019 when he was handpicked by Zimbabwe Soccer Supporters Association vice chairperson Carl Marx Nkomo to be part of the supporters’ delegation at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. And true to form, he left an unforgettable impression in Cairo.
Donning a red and white bikini, Gamecocks colours, of course, MaCloud became a magnet for cameras and conversations. Locals and tourists alike scrambled for selfies with the flamboyant Zimbabwean.
“Egypt is one of my football highlights,” he chuckles. “Had it not been for Chicken Inn, no one would know who MaCloud is. I’d never have made it to AFCON.”
This season, Chicken Inn have struggled to find their rhythm. Five games in, they are still chasing their first win. But as coaches change, players rotate and form dips, MaCloud is one figure who remains ever-present and ever-passionate. Through ups and downs, MaCloud is still there, as the heartbeat of the Gamecocks.
He might not wear the captain’s armband or feature on the team sheet, but make no mistake of belittling him. In the story of Chicken Inn, he is a central character. And to the fans in the terraces, his chants mean the game has begun.
“I’ve walked this journey with them since day one. I’ll be here till the very end,” he said.
Bongani Ndlovu