Tonight is the night

Twine Phiri, the PSL president, was last night confident that they would, in conjunction with the sponsors Delta Beverages, put up a show to remember at a hotel in the capital.

This evening will mark the end of the 2012 season with Dynamos honoured for winning the championship.

But with the champions known already, the biggest puzzle is the destination of the Castle Lager Soccer Star of the Year award. This is the most prized accolade in domestic football. Great players who have shaped local football and raised the profiles of their individual clubs and themselves have won it before.

Over the years, the media, sponsors and the League have engaged each other and resolved that a broader selection panel would restore pride and honour to the awards.

In the past whereas it used to be the media practitioners selecting, in recent years coaches also have come on board to dispel accusations of journalists voting for their home teams as had seemingly become the norm in previous years. Accusations of journalists being in camps of some player agents had come to the fore.

This evening it looks like either Highlanders dynamo Mambare or DeMbare supercharged midfielder Mukamba will land the biggest prize for an individual player of $5 000 for being the most outstanding player in the Castle Lager championship.

Both players go into the evening with $6 500 already in their bank accounts after they swept individual awards at their respective clubs.

The two play for teams sponsored by BancABC and have surely given value for money for their teams’ benefactor.

Mukamba was brilliant especially in the dying stages of the season. He scored frequently, created opportunities for his teammates apart from entertaining legions of Dynamos supporters.

Mambare’s crowning would be due recognition of consistent brilliance from the beginning to the end for Highlanders. He scored a first this year by winning three Castle Lager Player of the Month awards and had one monthly top goal scorers award.

If he loses this one, Ariel Sibanda will definitely atone the club’s fans by walking away with the Goalkeeper of the Year award. He conceded the least number of goals, 14 in 29 matches and was on four occasions the Castle Lager Goalkeeper of the Month.

The Warriors goalkeeper is also among the 11 players vying for the Soccer Star of the Year award.

Partson Jaure and Ronald Chitiyo are favourites to land the second runner-up spot, which carries $2 000.

Nelson Maziwisa is also guaranteed of his Top Goal Scorer award after banging 18 goals for Shabanie Mine who had a good season despite meagre resources under the now suspended Luke Masomere.

Callisto Pasuwa is the odds-on favourite to land the Coach of the Year award. If his league and cup double last season in less than 13 games was a fluke, then this year’s has seen him come out with flying colours.

Competition could come from Kelvin Kaindu who transformed what appeared a relegation bound side that finished seventh in 2011 and guided it to a tie of 69 points with Dynamos. Bosso played some of the most exciting soccer in the league in a long time and duly contributed four players to the Soccer Star of the Year calendar — Innocent Mapuranga, Mthulisi Maphosa, Sibanda and Mambare.

Adam Ndlovu, who guided Chicken Inn to a third place finish and fourth placed Monomotapa’s Biggie Zuze, are the other coaches who had a good season.

Impressive Victoria Falls referee Hardly Ndazi who handled the explosive encounters between Highlanders and Dynamos at Barbourfields Stadium and the Mbada Diamonds Cup semi-final pitting Caps and Dynamos, could scoop the centreman’s award. He however could fall foul of the new rules where referees are chosen based on match commissioners’ assessments.

Batsirayi Muchenje, Ruzive Ruzive, Philani Ncube, Nkosana Nduna, Tione Kacheche and Munyaradzi Majoni are some of the names that would not come as a surprise if they win. Their interpretation and application of soccer rules was impressive.

There are concerns that some of the assessors were bad referees who hardly officiated in the Premiership, or if they did, they owed it to dirty politics in the game and these match commissioners could be out of depth.

The evening will see the most disciplined team in the league also crowned and taking home $10 000.

Highlanders on the field of play could have been contenders. They could be affected by the behaviour of their fans.

Among the evening’s other prizes to attract attention will be that of the player deemed to be the most promising in the league.