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Zimbabwe: Charity Shield's Silver Lining
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 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
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The Herald (Harare)
27 February 2008
Posted to the web 27 February 2008
Robson Sharuko
Harare
After a dozen weeks off the radar - for its traditional end-of-season retreat - domestic football returned to the soccer pitches of the capital on Sunday as fans in Harare got their chance to welcome the dawn of a new season.
The last time a local top-flight football game had been played in Harare was on December 4 - ironically at Gwanzura - on a rainswept afternoon when Dynamos were officially crowned the champions of Zimbabwe. As delirious DeMbare fans sang and danced in the rain - celebrating the end of their lengthy 10-year wait for the league championship - it marked the end of a season in which their team got due rewards for its gallant efforts.
When the last of those fans finally left Gwanzura that day, it drained life out of the old stadium and - for the next 12 weeks - it quickly turned into a ghost facility abandoned by the partners who bring it to life. On Sunday life and colour finally returned to Gwanzura as the fans in the capital trooped back to the stadium for an occasion that effectively marked the beginning of the new season.
The occasion was the second leg of the Nestle Champion of Champions Charity Shield - a sequel to the original battle between Highlanders and Dynamos at Barbourfields two weeks ago which ended in a stalemate. And just like the last time Gwanzura had opened its gates to the fans in December, there was another trophy for the Dynamos family, this time around as a Benjamin Marere goal gave them the Charity Shield on a 2-1 aggregate scoreline.
But the game never rose to the expected heights - a big yawn that was so boring the only surprise was that there was still a big crowd by the time that the referee decided it was time to end our nightmare. The performance of blundering referee Christopher Manuel was so diabolical the only surprise was that the police did not charge him for a performance deliberately aimed at creating alarm and despondency and thereby torching public violence. The quality of the pitch was such a shocker the only surprise was that the police did not arrest the Harare City Council employees - who collected $67 billion from the gate-takings - for what was apparently a fraudulent activity.
How do you charge $67 billion for such a winter wheat field disguised as a football pitch? But every cloud, though, has its silver lining. And amid the ruins at Gwanzura on Sunday, there were some success stories.
Nestle Zimbabwe
The company poured a record $190 billion into the Champion of Champions Charity Shield this season - a massive investment for a two-game tournament in an environment where the majority of corporate partners still shun an association with football.
The company flew Dynamos to Bulawayo for the first leg and flew Highlanders to Harare for the second leg -- guaranteeing both teams $12,5 billion in appearance fees that had nothing to do with winning or losing the contest. What this means is that there were no direct expenses incurred by the two giants to play in the Charity Shield and everything that they earned was a big bonus to them and their players.
You cannot fault the sponsor for a poor show on the field of play -- like the one that we saw on Sunday -- and neither can you blame the sponsor for the terrible state of the pitch like what we saw at Gwanzura. In contrast you end up sympathising with the sponsor, wondering whether they got the mileage that they deserved and -- in the event that they did not -- wondering about the wrong message that a game, desperately in need of such partners, might have sent to other potential suitors.
The sponsors -- in collaboration with the Premier Soccer League management committee -- deployed some Rotarians to man the gates and there was a smooth flow of the fans at Gwanzura as they made their way into the stadium. The way the sponsors branded the stadium was beautiful and the sight of guests in the VVIP Enclosure being served with a free cup of coffee during the match was refreshing and brought our game closer to what is happening in other parts of the world.
The kit used by both Dynamos and Highlanders in both games -- provided by the sponsor -- was a genuine Adidas strip and, in a league in which we have seen some funny brands, this was a welcome departure from mediocrity. The names on the jerseys -- save for Justice Majabvi who had originally been excluded from the Dynamos team for this tournament -- were clear. There were no stickers or bandages, disguised as name tags, for this final -- something that we have seen with alarming regularity in the Premiership over the past two years.
When Dynamos were crowned league champions at the same stadium two months ago, there was no public address system to spice the occasion with music as the fans celebrated their team's victorious hour. On Sunday the organisers made sure a public address system was in place and there was music to liven the occasion as the dancing and singing started once the match had come to an end.
Even Doctor Zobha was there to provide his special dish of unique entertainment.
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Farai Munetsi
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