IT will be their first time on this grand stage but Zimbabwe are aiming to upset the applecart and make a lasting impression at the African Table Soccer Championships set for Benin next month.
The West African nation will host the tournament from November 15-17.
Locally known as slug, table soccer is now being played professionally in Zimbabwe and the sport has become a hit, especially in high-density suburbs which include Mbare and Mabvuku.
A star-studded seven-member team including the country's number one player Douglas "Macheso" Matambanadzo of Mabvuku and former national champion Luke Ngwarati will head to Benin hoping to reach the knockout stages.
The team, which also features brothers Leonard and Lameck Dzengerere, will be coached by Richard Choto.
"This will be our first time at the African championships but we are aiming to do well," Zimbabwe Table Soccer Association (ZTSA) president, Coxwell Chigwanha, told Zimpapers Sports Hub.
"We have some good players in our team and we are happy because we have been promised sponsorship by BetterBrands, who are owned by Mabvuku Member of Parliament Pedzai "Scott" Sakupwanya," added Chigwanha.
"BetterBrands are our usual sponsors and they have single-handedly helped in promoting the sport's transformation from a leisure sport to a professional sport.
"They sponsored our national championships back in April and they are now sponsoring the national team."
The Confederation of African Table Soccer Associations will also hold its general assembly on the sidelines of the championships.
It will be an elective assembly where new leaders are to be voted into office.
Chigwanha will be carrying the Zimbabwean flag as he seeks to become the Confederation's vice president.
Table Soccer Federation of Benin president, Delano Hountini Kiki, has already written to the ZTSA, inviting them for their team's maiden appearance.
"The Federation of Table Soccer of Benin, host country of the African Table Soccer Championship, is pleased to invite your Federation to partake to the African Table Soccer championship that would be held in Cotonou, Benin on 15th, 16th and 17th November 2024.
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"This solemn event will obviously be an opportunity for the Federations of the member countries of African Table Soccer Confederation, which will be invited beforehand by the CAFT, to participate in the Ordinary General Assembly organized by the said institution," wrote Hountini Kiki.
Zimbabwe team:
Leonard Dzengerere, Lameck Dzengerere, Sonny Sivare, Noel Justin, Lawrence Mutizwa, Pios Dirwai, Luke Ngwarati.
