Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
FORGET slow starts and cagey score-lines, this Zimbabwe Women’s Premier Soccer League (ZWPSL) season is already one for the history books!
Since kick-off, the league has exploded with goals, drama and a stunning resurgence of veteran stars who’ve turned back the clock in spectacular fashion. Every match day has delivered at least 28 goals across the 16-team elite division, with Week 4 setting a record-smashing 37-goal haul.
In that thrilling round, Platinum Royals rained down 13 unanswered goals on Red Buffaloes, highlighting a campaign where seasoned legends are not just participating, they’re dominating.
Black Rhinos Queens’ Rudo Neshamba, long haunted by injury setbacks, currently tops the scoring charts with nine goals in eight matches. She shares the summit with Maningi Youth Academy’s Tanyaradzwa Chihoro. The two were deservedly named May’s joint Top Goal Scorers.
Not far behind is Rutendo Makore, the Black Rhinos striker affectionately known as “Madzimai,” who netted five times in as many games last month, taking her season tally to eight. She even bagged a hat-trick, one of three players to do so for the Rhinos this season.
Felistas “Figo” Muzongondi also turned on the style with a hat-trick against Red Buffaloes in a 10-0 demolition, while veteran midfielder Mavis Chirandu joined the party with another treble in the same game.
Black Rhinos now stand as the only side to boast hat-tricks from three different players this season.
But it’s not just Rhinos lighting up the league.
Platinum Royals’ Charity Karuru wrote her name into the season’s folklore with a staggering six-goal performance against Nyazura-based Red Buffaloes.
Meanwhile, Herentals Queens’ shot-stopper Lindiwe Magwede was crowned May Goalkeeper of the Month after keeping five clean sheets.
Yet behind this scoring renaissance lies a deeper, more inspiring subplot: redemption.
Just two years ago, Rutendo Makore had ruled herself out of the game, physically and emotionally drained from injury. Today, she is back and beaming.
“It has been quite a process, but I am happy we are here again, doing what we know best,” said Makore.
“We do not know how the season will end but so far, I personally feel that I am in the right direction and I have not yet reached my previous form.”
Much of her comeback was sparked, perhaps unknowingly, by Rudo Neshamba’s own return. Neshamba’s career nearly ended after a brutal knee injury suffered during the 2016 Rio Olympics. By 2017, she was on the verge of hanging up her boots.
But after a successful surgery, she clawed her way back to fitness and form, joining Harare City Queens before moving to Chapungu, where she now also serves as player-coach.
“Coming back from injury is not easy. Apart from physically derailing you, it also takes an emotional toll, which needs to be dealt with carefully,” said Neshamba.
“It was frustrating to imagine that my journey was ending due to injury. Every time I watched my mates playing, it affected me deeply, but eventually that became the major motivation for me to bounce back.”
Bounce back they have, and with a vengeance.
With veterans leading the way and goals raining from every angle, the 2025 ZWPSL season isn’t just heating up, it’s blazing.
ZWPSL Matchday 8 Results
Sheasham 3–1 Cranborne
Platinum Royals 4–0 Maningi
Harare City 1–1 Conduit
Mpopoma 0–3 Chapungu Queens
Highlanders Royals 1–0 Kwekwe United
Correctional Queens 1–0 Faith Drive
Black Mambas 0–5 Herentals Queens
Red Buffaloes 0–10 Black Rhinos
