Chronicle Editor
SIXTY-SIX years down the road, the Townshend and Butcher Soccer Tournament still retains its place as the city’s amateur football premier cup.
According to sponsor and owner of the oldest sports outfitters in Bulawayo, Townshend and Butcher, Peter Leondios, the tournament is guaranteed to stay on the calendar as long as there are people keen to play football in Bulawayo.
The first tournament was played in 1957 and it is believed Matabeleland Highlanders FC won the first editions. They would continue to be a dominant side in the event up to 1968 when the club decided to join the national association football leaving a franchise holder Mat High City FC, a club that was knocked out in the semi-final stage of this year’s competition.
Mat High City have won the tournament more than a dozen times since 1969 and generations of players have come through the club and gone to play for Highlanders FC with varying levels of success. Leondios said he viewed soccer as a unifier of communities. “Soccer is the glue that keeps communities together. It is the country’s most followed sport and in terms of numbers that participate as players, it is still the biggest. It has been like that ever since,” said Leondios.
Leondios said when he took over Townshend and Butcher in 1987, he committed himself to continue with the legacy it had created since 1957.
“You don’t want to obliterate history for the sake of. It is a good deed that Wally Townshend and Mr Butcher started for the Bulawayo community. As part of my businesses’ corporate social responsibility, I am happy to continue to associate with the event that has seen many a great players come through. It is always good to have the community have something to look up to like this tournament,” said Leondios.
It is the only tournament for the oldest league in the country still existing, the Bulawayo Amateur Football Association (Bafa). He praised the men who have volunteered their services over the years to keep the league afloat and ensured the tournament stays on.
“From the days of Mackenzie Sibanda, Makhubalo and Phineas Ndlovu, Bafa is still going strong because of the spirit of volunteerism by men who love the game and community. It has been a great pleasure working with transparent administrators who are in it for goodness sake and who love the game and want to see Bulawayo people play sport for wellness and entertainment,” said the Townshend and Butcher director who has business interests in the tourism sector as well.
He said he is happy that teams like Highlanders, Zimbabwe Saints, Red Seal and Pigott Maskew started their journey there before they played in the top divisions with Amahlolanyama the most successful. The future looks bright. This year Leondios said he sponsored the teams to the tune of US$2 000.
Eight teams participated. Leondios challenged the league to embrace more teams.
Over the years many clubs have been lost to the social leagues and a few like champions Hotspurs and Mat High City have stuck to the league. Zifa Area Zone chairman for Bulawayo Charles Chunda was full of praise for the sponsors.
“Finding sponsorship is not easy and also retaining it is a challenge as tenets of good governance are a must. I am proud that from the days of the Zengenis in the 1950s, we have had men who have exhibited that to keep this event going. It is no small feat to have a tournament run by one organisation for so long. I am happy the guys that are running Bafa now are also keen to have more teams come on board. What is pleasing is that the sponsor has assured Bafa that they are still in it for years to come,” said Chunda.
Before the start of association football in the 1960s, Bafa ran football for Africans at a time Europeans had their own. Bafa had the Townshend and Butcher Trophy and qualifiers for the Osborne Trophy which was a national amateur tournament. There was also the inter-cities competitions made up of Select teams with Bulawayo’s Select known as Red Army.
Chunda said in the 1950s legends like Mackenzie Sibanda, Edward Dzowa, Edward Dlamini, Matthew “303” Marume, Jambok, Scholar, Nichodemus Sibanda and the Makhanda brothers Chester and Gibson were some of the big names.
The likes of Lawrence Phiri, Billy Sibanda, Barry Daka, Ananias Dube, Mike Moyo, Melusi Sibanda, Mapleni Nyathi were among some of the emerging stars as the tournament completed its first decade and would follow up with a generation that had Albert Dube, Kainot Luphahla and Peter Nkomo among those that rose to prominence.
Former Black Mambas and Blackpool steely defender Joseph Dube played in the tournament for Mat High City in the 1980s among a host of other young players who would later rise to prominence in Division Two, Division One and the Premiership.
Online Reporter