tawandamusarurwa
Arthur Choga
Sport and music have a long and healthy relationship.
Singing at sporting events is guaranteed to lift the spirits of players and fans, while chants at football matches are believed to inspire teams to play better and, at the same time, demoralise the opposing team.
In Zimbabwe, we have a long-held tradition of singing at sporting events.
At school, they provided the rare occasion when children got the chance to sing.
This is common across sports, with the tone and language differing according to the location.
There was a time when tennis captured the imagination of local sports fans.
For example, in the 1990s, the Zimbabwe Davis Cup team stormed into the Euro/Africa Zone Group One by playing some fearless tennis.
The team featured Byron Black, Wayne Black and Genius Chidzikwe.
The non-playing captain was Rashid Hassan. The team played some of its matches at the City Sports Centre, where a team of drummers would provide a fitting backdrop to games.
Drums at a tennis match are the height of Zimbabwean flavour.
In 1993, Fungai Malianga penned a song called “It’s the Blacks”, which was a tribute to the Black family and Genius Chidzikwe.
The team would eventually qualify to the World Group in 1998 and stay there for three years.
And during that period, Malianga’s song prominently featured on playlists.
Football has long been the theatre for chants and songs.
Zimbabwe’s national football team went on a winning run at the National Sports Stadium in the early 1990s.
In 1992, the team, led by German coach Reinhard Fabisch, memorably demolished South Africa’s vaunted Bafana Bafana 4-1.
It inspired The Giraffe, a band made up of Tanga Ernest Sando and Bothwell Nyamhondera, to produce the song “Vakomana Vekwedu”.
Its video featured clips of the victorious Dream Team.
It naturally became a classic and favourite whenever the Warriors were in action.
Football clubs benefit from fans who play music at stadiums.
Abroad, there have been chart-topping football tracks from groups such as Status Quo (Glory, Glory Man United), among others.
Locally, Lovemore Majaivana had a song dedicated to Highlanders called Badlala Njani.
It was a tribute to the great team of the 1980s and was released in 1986.
Majaivana also did a foot-stomping tune in honour of Barbourfields Stadium, Emagumeni.
He is a true fan of the game.
In 1998, Thomas Mapfumo released an album titled Chimurenga 98, and, on it, he did a song with Charles Mabika titled “Shumba Dzenhabvu”.
The football World Cup was held in France in 1998 and Mabika goes on a trip down World Cup memory lane with his commentary on the song, where he references heroes of past World Cups.
Mapfumo also found a way to drop the name of his football club, Sporting Lions, several times in the song.
While Sporting Lions had a short stint in the Premier League, they made a mark with their fashionable kits.
However, probably the best local football songs were released in 1987.
The late legendary Zexie Manatsa always loved football.
His wedding was held at Rufaro Stadium and people paid to attend, so it made sense for him to compose an album that exclusively had football songs.
The album was called Tsuro Soccer Star.
It featured odes to Highlanders, Caps United, Dynamos and Zimbabwe Saints.
CAPS United fans will claim the “Makepekepe, Shaisa Mufaro …” song is the best of the lot.
It may well be the one that had the greatest airplay.
“Ibhola sesiphelilie…” became synonymous with Highlanders’ victory celebrations.
On the other hand, the Dynamos song featured a jiti flavour and was sung to the tune of “Chionekedzo”.
It was easy to imitate in the stands.
Chikwata, as Saints were known, may have disappeared from the topflight, but they were immortalised in song.
Music will forever be a part of sport.
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Online Reporter